Assassin Version
by the rotten1
Summary: Long is an assassin for Tylon, and guess who else is there.
1. Unwilling Assassins

Chapter 1. Unwilling Assassins The new assassin entered the office in a greacefull and dignified manner befitting his status. He sat down in the lonely chair in front of Tylon's desk while Vark closed the door and stood beside it, waiting for orders. Manilla folders were piled to one side of the desk, the files of information on the assassin's victims. One single folder rested alone in the middle, underneath the Van's fingers. He put his reading glasses on and flipped through the file, checking to make sure that everything was there. After finishing his work and finding the information complete he looked over his reading glasses to glance into the assassin's brown eyes, as though trying to ascertain his level of skill.   
"I have little time for pleasantries, so I'm going to be both blunt and brief with you." he stated. "This is a dangerous job, perhaps even considered a suicide mission to most. Do you think you can handle it?"  
"I'm sure that a man of such intellect as you possess would appreciate that I cannot give you an honest answer untill I am better informed on the matter." #318 replied graciously.  
"Right answer." Van replied, smirking. _He is very professional, so unlike all of my other assassins._ He slid the envelope across the table to the assassin who opened it and studied it's contents carefully. _I think I might actually enjoy working with this one. I wonder how long I can keep him here without the other offices complaining about it._ Van ran through the details in his mind while he waited, and then happened to notice that Vark was standing idly by the door staring at him. "Why don't you make yourself usefull and bring me some tea?" he ordered. She nodded obediently.  
"Anything for you?" she asked the assassin.  
"Any hot tea with a light touch of sugar would be greatly appreciated." he absently replied, engrossed in his study of the information. She went straight to her work, carefull to open and close the door quietly so as not to disturb the meeting. #318 skimmed through several pages of information, absorbing every detail meticulously. He then calculated what it would take to get the job done, weighing the risks and the benefits carefully. Finally he finished the last page, closed the folder and glanced back up into the eyes of Tylon.  
"With a bit of effort, I believe I can pull this off quite nicely." he announced. "Although it may require some cover-up work on your part."  
"Cover-up work will be simple enough for me if you complete the mission as it is outlined in the folder." the other stated. #318 nodded in agreement with him. Vark returned momentarilly with their drinks and set them on the desk beside each man respectively, before returning to her corner by the door. Van picked up his cup and swirled it around for a moment before taking a slow sip. He tasted the drink's bitterness in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it down. "Still think you are up to the task?" The assassin seemed to consider it for a moment as he took a sip of his drink.  
"Quite certainly."  
"Very well then. I will see you again once the mission is completed." The assassin got up from his seat and bowed politely and Vark, as if on cue, walked over to escort him out the door.   
"Oh, and Vark..." Van called as they reached the door. "Summon my dear half-sister while you're at it."  
"Immediately." she answered, bowing a show of obedience and then turning directly to her task.  
  
Alica eyed the new assassin curisouly as he walked back into the room, trying to figure out what made him so important. She studied the sharp Asian features of his slender face and the way his bangs fell over his forehead. They partially covered his eyebrows in the front, but she could see enough to know that they angled down sharply, making him look angry. His bangs sloped down towards his ears at the sides and the rest of his long, black hair was casually pulled back into a lose ponytail that trailed down to the middle of his back. The light from the room reflected coldly off the circular frames of his glasses, making it difficult to see his slanted Asian eyes.   
"Alica, you're next." Vark stated coldly. She got up from her seat as #318 walked into the middle of the room. She had half a mind to ask him to stay there untill she got back. She wanted to talk to him, to figure out who he was and what he was doing. He sat back down in his recliner as though he were going to wait there for awhile anyway, so she didn't bother. She simply left the room and allowed Vark, whom she truly despised, to lead her into her brother's office, even though she already knew the way.  
"You can almost sense the tension between those two, ne?" Fox asked #318 once they had gone. "I think it has something to do with the fact that Vark seems to have a crush on her brother. I have to admit he is quite a lovely specimen of a man."  
"Hm."  
"Is that all you're going to say? Oh, but I forgot! The lady is gone now, so of course you're going to revert to your normal self. How boring." he turned back towards the mirror and stared at his own reflection, straightening his hair and applying fresh make-up where he felt it was needed.  
"I should be the one getting the respect around here." Bakuryu's worn old voice grated. "I have worked for Tylon ever since I was ten." Fox glanced at his reflection in the mirror.  
"So it's been what, 90 years for you now?"  
"Grrr, Tylon hasn't been around that long and you know it!" the angered man hissed.  
"It's been around long enough if you've been working here since you were ten." Fox finished, turning back to his own reflection in the mirror.   
"I've been working for them for almost eight years now." Greg added. "How about you, #318?"  
"Seven years and three months." he muttered.  
"What was that?"  
"Seven years and three months!" Fox repeated. "Are you deaf?"  
"No, but he is quiet!"  
"Silence can be deadly." Bakuryu stated. Strangely enough, it was silent after that because no one had anything else to say. The silence penetrated the room, causing a slight feeling of uneasiness. Bakuryu smiled at the way Greg glanced nervously about the room.  
"Oh, enough already!" Fox yelled. "What is this silence-can-be deadly shit?"  
"Percisely what you should expect from a Master of Ninjitsu." #318 replied.  
"How did you know that!?!" Bakuryu demanded.  
"You are wearing ninja gi." he stated, pointing out the other's ignorance.   
"And how do you know that I'm a Master and not just some student?" Bakuryu continued.  
"That much is obvious to me. I recognize my competition when I see it."  
"What!?! Are you a Samurai?"  
"No."  
"Then why do you say that?"  
"I am an assassin, and as you are also an assassin you are my competition, are you not?"   
"Oh."  
"You see what I mean?" Fox asked. "He's got such a superior attitude, and he loves to make others look stupid!"  
"Which isn't much of a task in Greg's case." #318 added.  
"Did I do something that bothered you?" Greg asked. "I was only trying to have a nice conversation..."  
"It is in the past, Greg. I suppose you have forgotten."  
"I guess so..." he agreed, staring into the other's face as though looking for something. Alica walked back into the room and sat down at her spot on the couch.   
"I hope I can find some better work soon." Greg whined. "Such a long time and still so little money for my circus."  
"That's only because you're such a lousy assassin!" Bakuryu accused.  
"Why don't you open a new show or something?" Fox suggested. "Your current shows are so boring, it's no wonder your circus is about to go bankrupt!"  
"For starts you could take everyone in this room and start a freak show." #318 sugested.   
"Ah, how ruuuude!" Fox whined. "How dare you refer to my beautiful looks in such a manner!" he started to cock his hand back to throw his brush at #318, but then remembered what had happened last time and reconsidered.  
"Between you, Greg, and the old ninja I think it would be quite a sucessfull freak show, don't you?"  
"And what about you and Alica? You think just because you look half-way normal you are not freaks? Forget about it dear! This is a room full of assassins, we are all freaks here!"  
"Call me dear one more time I'll shave off your eyebrows and cut off your pretty little eyelashes!"  
"Ah! How dare you..."  
"Fox." Vark interrupted. "You're up next." He got up from his seat at the vanity, turning his back to #318, and walked gracefully to the door.   
"Toodles!" Fox called, waving them goodbye before stepping out. #318 groaned in annoyance.   
"I certainly hope it is not necessary for me to work with him again anytime soon."  
"I'm not a freak." Alica mumbled, trying to assure herself of the fact.  
"What did I do to you anyway?" Greg wondered.  
"Such a terrible memory..." #318 complained. "It is pitiful... _you_ are quite pitiful. Although I suppose seven years has made quite a difference on me."  
"Oh wait, I know!" Greg finally remembered. "You're that kid that I had to teach how to be an assassin! I remember now, Tylon was threatening to kill your family if you didn't kill for them. Sorry about what I said... Oh, I know I was very crude. But they told me that if I did that they would donate so much money to my circus... and you know, I haven't seen a damn penny of it yet, what a rip!"  
"Ugh..." #318 groaned in distaste at the memory. "It took you long enough, you damned oaf."  
"Tylon threatened to kill your family?" Alica asked. "But they didn't actually do it yet?"  
"I have been quite dilligent in my efforts to prevent them from doing so." #318 answered coldly.  
"That's one I must say I haven't heard before." she admitted. "I know they've used a certain kind of collar to control people, other forms of black-mail, but..."   
"An unwilling assassin has weaknesses." Bakuryu interrupted, grinning so wide that it was scary. "And now I see my chance! I will rise to the top and be 'Bakuryu the Feared' once more! Do you know what they used to say about me? They used to say that if someone turned up on my hit list they may as well begin their funeral preparations." His grin widened even more at the finish of the statement.  
"I almost wish Fox were here to throw a brush at him." #318 complained.   
"Yes, it would be nice to have someone shut him up." Alica agreed.   
"Hmpf." the new assassin got up from the recliner and made for the door.  
"Going to work now?" Greg asked.  
"Going out to smoke." he replied. "Then to work."  
"I see Tylon has made you pick up some nasty habits."  
"Smoking is the least of them." He walked through the doorway and closed the door behind him, Alica decided to get up from her seat and follow.  
"Now where are you going?"  
"Mind you own business Greg!" She left the room and followed him from a short distance, watching as he left the building and sat down at the curb of the parking lot before fishing a cigarette and a lighter out of one pocket. She walked over to him as he light the cigarette, and sat down beside him on the curb. She didn't smoke herself, actually she detested the smell of it, but she was curious about this man and her curiousity usually won out. She was hoping that he might be a little more open now that the others had been left behind.  
"Mind if I have you name now?"  
"Yes, and very much so."   
"It's just a name."  
"As are all the people we kill, simply names on a list."  
"Are you afraid someone's going to put your name on it?"   
"I am not afraid of anything." He took a long drag of his cigarette as though he were hoping it would make her go away.  
"Nothing at all? Not even death?"  
"Death least of all."  
"Everyone is afraid of something."  
"If I tell you what I am afraid of, will you go away?"  
"I'm curious about you."  
"Many people are."  
"I will not leave untill my curiosity is satisfied."  
"I have killed people for less."  
"So have I."  
"Fair enough." He took another long drag of his cigarette and leaned back, tilting his head to look up at the sky. Most of it was blocked off from his view by the roofs of sky-scrapers, and clouded by a heavy fog.   
"You have my name."  
"Alica Tylon."  
"Yes, now may I have yours?"  
"You may call me Singh Long."  
"See, that wasn't so hard." she joined him in gazing up at the sky, straining to see a bit of blue beneath the many layers of fog.  
"What are you still here for? If there's something else you want then be quick about it, I have work to do."  
"So, Tylon threatened to kill your family if you would not kill for them?"  
"You knew that already, get to the point."  
"Do you enjoy your work? You seem to."  
"I don't _enjoy_ a moment of it. I simply perform my functions to the best of my ability in order to avoid the penalties for failing to do so."  
"So you're afraid they're going to kill your family?"  
"I don't think so, it's my turn to ask a question." he finished the cigarette and flicked the filter into the middle of the parking lot. "Now, I have heard that you are Van's half-sister. That can't be any fun."  
"It sure as hell isn't a walk in the park."  
"And do _you_ enjoy _your_ work?"  
"Hell no."  
"Hm, I see. Yet you continue to do it."  
"It's my turn." she reminded him. "You are afraid they're going to kill your family."  
"They will, if I so much as botch up one job. I am a professional due only to necessity, and you?"  
"Someone framed me for killing my father." He burst into laughter upon hearing her answer. "What are you laughing for? People think I killed him to gain control of Tylon, _this is not funny_!!!"  
"No, but it is quite ironic." he replied, making an effort to stop laughing.  
"How is it ironic?"  
"I have desired to kill my own father... for a very long time."  
"Well, my situation is different."  
"I agree, but is it not a strange coincidence? If indeed a coincidence it is."  
"I guess so... Anyway, to answer your question I am not widely trusted due to my half-blood. Van, my pure-blodded brother..." she said his name as though it were the name of a disease. "is protecting me from whatever fate is usually reserved for the person who kills the head Tylon."  
"And you despise him for it."  
"My turn to ask a question."  
"It wasn't a question."  
"Right... well, now... where was I? Oh yes, on your family. You kill to protect them."  
"Indeed."  
"And how many are there? You hate your father, but you have a mother, brothers? Sisters?"  
"My mother and one younger sister, I kill for them."  
"I see."  
"I am done with you now. I can plainly see that you are trapped underneath Van's thumb. He is not going to let you go anywhere."  
"You seem to know him well enough for having just met him, but I suppose he is easy enough to figure out."  
"I know his type." Long replied, getting up from the curb.  
"Wait, I'm not done talking to you."   
"But I am done," he insisted, walking off into the parking lot as she jumped up from her seat. "and I'm going to work now."  
"Wait! I thought... I just thought we could talk." he stopped walking. "There aren't many other unwilling assassins you know." He stood there for a moment, considering the matter.  
"As well as your brother recieved me Alica..." Long began, not bothering to turn his head back to look at her. "I doubt it will be long before I see you again. Anyhow, I have work to do." That said, he walked off. She stood there and watched dazedly as his tall, muscular form gracefully walked through the parking lot, his ponytail swinging gently with his gait. He crossed over it quickly and dissapeared behind a corner, which she knew to lead to a backstreet.   
_Have it your way then, Singh Long. I will see you again._


	2. Top Assassin

**Top Assassin** The next morning Fox, Bakuryu, Greg, Alica, and #318 all sat in their usual spots, waiting for Van again. Fox admired himself in the mirror, flipping his bangs untill they looked absolutely perfect. Bakuryu leaned on the arm rest of his couch near the door, looking as if he'd fall into a deep sleep just about any minute. Greg fidgeted nervoulsy on his side of the other couch, and Alica sat as close to the arm rest on her side as possible to keep away from him. Singh Long sat in the recliner again.  
"What are you fidgeting for?" Fox demanded of Greg. "Stop that at once! Do you have any idea how annoying it is?"  
"I... failed to complete my mission." he whined. "Van's gonna kill me!"  
"Oh for God's sake!" Alica complained. "He's not going to kill you! Although I admit he certainly won't be pleased."  
"My mission was executed perfectly!" Bakuryu bragged. "I..."  
"I don't think so!" Fox interrupted, throwing his brush at the old man's head before he could continue. Bakuryu growled as it hit his head, and then grabbed it before it fell to the floor.  
"You really shouldn't throw things you don't want to lose." Long commented cooly. Fox got up from his seat at the vanity and walked over to Bakuryu.  
"He needs to shut up!"  
"You need to learn some manners!" the old one hissed.  
"Come on you guys!" Greg complained. "What if Van walks in here and sees this?"  
"Oh Van!" Fox exclaimed, snatching the brush out of the startled assassin's hands and running back to his vanity.  
"Yes, wouldn't want to displease him, would you?" Alica reminded.  
"My merciless leader? Of course not!"  
"You're not the only one who wants a piece of my brother. You'll have to wait your turn in line, right behind Vark."  
"You think she has a better chance with him than I do?"  
"I don't think anyone has much of a chance with him, but you least of all."  
"Guess you're stuck with Busuzima." Greg added.  
"Ah, Busu-kun! I do apperciate him, but honestly he is so ugly... if only I could find a sexy bishounen man!" Alica groaned in disgust and Greg shook his head at it. Bakuryu nodded off on the couch, and began snoring. Singh Long simply ignored them all, laid back on the recliner to relax, and put the foot-rest up.  
"That's not a very good idea." Alica warned him.  
"Don't you remember what happened the last time you did that?" Greg asked.  
"I have a feeling that today will be different." #318 replied smugly.  
"You are such a fool..." Fox insulted absently, looking at his reflection in the mirror. "A beauty, but a fool nonetheless."  
"Psycho bitch." #318 replied.  
"Cold-blooded killer."  
"_I_ am the best assassin!" Bakuryu insisted, waking with a start.  
"Psycho bitch." #318 continued.  
"Loner." Fox retorted.  
"_Hans_."   
"Stop calling me that!" he cried, throwing his brush at the assassin again. He caught it just as easlilly as he had the day before.  
"Tsk, tsk, when will you learn Hans?"  
"I _hate_ it when you call me that!" Alica giggled, enjoying Fox's torment.  
"Aw... too bad _Hansey_." Long taunted.  
"Do be a dear and give it back." Fox cooed.  
"Ugh..." #318 groaned in disgust and beaned him on the head with it.  
"Lovely." Fox replied, picking it up off the floor. "Are you sure you're straight? The way you said that sounded so nice."  
"To tell you the truth I never considered my sexual orientation before." Long admitted. "But since you brought it up in such a way, I believe I'm definately going to be heterosexual."  
"It's really too bad, you could look so bishounen in a lacy little pink dress. Of course you would definately need a little more make-up, especially some lipstick... Ooooo, and you would look sooo cute with your hair down!"  
"Grrr..." Singh growled, climbing out of his seat.  
"Fox, you're starting to piss him off." Greg warned. "That's probably not a good idea."  
"You gonna do something about it my wittle sugar plum?" Hans taunted, walking up to him.   
"_Hans_..."Alica cautioned.  
"One more step towards me and I swear I'll cut off you head." Long threatened.  
"Oooo, I'm so scared." Fox mocked, taking a few more steps towards him. "Which one I wonder?"  
"Whichever one gets in my way first, _Hans_."  
"Let's get it _on_ deary!" Fox challenged, striking his fighting pose. "If you win you can beat me up, boo-hoo! But if I win I get to make you my bitch!" #318 shot one hand out and grabbed Fox's dainty little neck, choking him. It was at this exact moment that Van decided to make his appearance. He waltzed into the room smiling gailly and humming to himself, an activity he seldom indulged in. As soon as he saw what was going on his smile drooped a bit and he stopped humming, a puzzled look covering his face.   
"What is going on in here?" he demand in his usual angry tone of voice.  
"With all due respect I request your permission to put an end to this annoyance." #318 asked. Van laughed deeply upon hearing the statement, and at the other's predicament.  
"Oh, great and glorious govnah..." Fox pleaded. "HELP!" Singh Long tightened his grip on the other's neck so that he couldn't talk anymore and struggled to breathe.  
"As much as I would love to allow it, he is usefull to me." Van replied. "Put him down." Long threw him straight into his own vanity, the mirror breaking under his weight with a resounding crash before he toppled to the floor. Then he sat back down in his recliner, propping the foot-rest up and watching as Fox picked himself up from the floor.  
"My beautiful mirror." the transvestite sniffled, sheding a tear as he picked a few shards of glass out of his legs. Van and #318 laughed wickedly, which Alica found disturbing even though she couldn't completely suppress a giggle herself.   
"Ooooo, evil laughter in stereo. Creepy!" Greg complained, at which #318 laughed even louder and Van stopped. He glanced over the room, starting with Bakuryu and going counter-clockwise untill his gaze reached Fox, checking to make sure everyone of his assassins was paying attention. #318 stopped laughing, but still had the foot-rest up. Van gazed back at him and nodded his acceptance of it.   
"Van? Are you feeling alright?" Alica wondered. He ignored her.  
"Excellent work." he smiled at #318 in a way that made Alica shrudder and then he glanced around the room again. "Has anyone watched the news lately?"  
"The news is almost as depressing as my life." Hans whined, finally picking himself off the floor and sitting back on the stool in front of his broken mirror.  
"I don't usually watch it either." Greg contributed.  
"I've been too busy with my work." was Alica's excuse.   
"As have I." Singh Long agreed. Van darted into his office and came back with a newspaper and another evil grin on his face. He un-folded it and smiled even wider at the headline on the front page. _This can't be good,_ Alica thought.  
"The AMA murders." Van read proudly. "Does everyone here know what the AMA is?"  
"Uh... no." Greg admitted.  
"The American Medical Association!" Alica exclaimed. "Many of their members have been protesting Tylon, and trying to get our experiments banned. You had someone kill some of them Van?" he smiled evilly and continued.  
"'Five people were found dead this morning, three men and two women mercilessly slaughtered within the confines of their own homes. Mauled beyond recognition, their identities were ascertained using dental impressions. There are no witnesses at all to the heinous crimes and not a sound was heard during the night they perished. Two of the victims were dispatched so quietly that their spouses, lying on the other side of the bed, were not even awakened by it.'"  
"Oooo, that is scary!" Greg whined, shaking in fear. "Can you imagine turning towards your loved one in the morning only to find..."  
"That is impossible!" Alica complained. "How could you maul someone beyond recognition without waking someone sleeping in the same bed?"  
"Silence is deadly." Bakuryu reminded them. "I truly honor whoever did this."  
"You mean it wasn't you?" Fox asked.  
"That much is obvious." Alica interjected, eyeing the new assassin curiously. _Could it have been him?_ Van coughed to get their attention and then proceeded with his reading.  
"'All five were wealthy homeowners, and had security systems installed in their homes. Authorities are baffled as to how something like this could occur without setting them off. The only thing these unfortunate five people had in common is that they were all members of the American Medical Assiciation who protested the newest experimentiations done by Tylon Corporation.   
"'We interviewed Van Tylon, the CEO of the company this morning, and he had this to say:' And I quote," Van added proudly. Quoting his own words, which had been quoted by the paper inflated his ego all the more, Alica was sickened by it. "'This is a terrible, and apalling crime. I had no knowledge whatsoever of this incident untill this morning...' Ah! They cut out some of my words! Anyway... 'However, despite our past disagreements with the AMA, my heart goes out to the poor souls of the hapless victims of the crime, and to all the loved ones dealing with the pain of their loss."  
"You are truly the scum of the earth." Alica muttered angrilly.   
"Did you say something my dear half-sister?"  
"Excellent cover-up work, my dear half-brother."   
"That is all I'm going to share with you for now." Van stated, folding up the paper and setting it on Fox's vanity. "I think I'm going to get a television in here so you can watch the news while you're waiting. It is so lovely how they go into all the details about these killings. Once again #318, excellent work. Couldn't have done it better myself."  
"_He_ did it!?!?!" Greg exclaimed.  
"Do you really think any of you other incompotent fools could have done this job?" Van demanded.   
"How could you?" Alica demanded of Singh Long, jumping out of her seat. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as they all stared curiously at her. She was embarassed by the attention and sat back down.  
"You must forgive Alica, #318." Van requested. "She is somewhat new to the business." Long nodded in agreement as Van continued. "#318 is a better assassin than all of you put together could ever hope to be! He not only completed his assignment precisely as I had intended, but also left no evidence of any sort! Finally I have found someone who will get my jobs right and I won't have to settle for the rest of your screw-ups! I couldn't be happier. He is _my_ top assassin now, the top assassin of Tylon, and perhaps all the world! You will treat him with the utmost respect, and if he ever needs your cooperation for an assignment you will obey him as you would me, understood?" All the assassins except for Long nodded their heads.  
"Good." he smiled again. "As always you will await your assignments here and be called into my office to receive them momentarrily." That said he darted back through the door, closing it behind him and leaving the room in silence.  
"How _could_ you do that?" Alica demanded of Long again.  
"It was my job." he replied cooly.  
"I... envy... you..." Bakuryu grumbled, his voice shaking with jealousy.  
"Charmed." #318 commented sarcastically.  
"I don't understand." Alica muttered to herself.  
"It is quite simple." Singh Long answered, having overheard her. "I do my job. I do it precisely as I am ordered to do it. No exceptions."  
"Van ordered you to maul them beyond recognition?"  
"Well, no... I suppose I could have simply snuck a bit of poison into their evening meals, but it is so much less fun that way."  
"Why so appalled chicky?" Fox asked Alica. "You did much the same thing yourself once... to your own father that is. Good thing Van's here to save your tail, ne?"  
"Grrr..." Alica jumped from her seat and growled at the hated assassin, clenching her fists and glaring at him threateningly. She wanted so badly to deny that she had done it, but the truth was that she couldn't remember. If she couldn't even convince herself that she hadn't done it, there was no way she could ever convince anyone else. But she completely despised the fact that Van had been the one to save her.  
"Leave her alone Hans." #318 ordered. "Pick on someone your own size."  
"Like you?"  
"You're welcome to try, I certainly wouldn't mind wringing your neck again." Fox rubbed his sore neck and shut up.  
"I don't need your protection, #318." Alica complained, returning to her seat. "I can take care of myself."  
"I was not protecting you." he denied. "I simply happen to enjoy tormenting transvestites."  
"So I'm singled out for my looks am I?" Fox pouted. "At least I don't have a crush on a half-Tylon, Van is full-blood."  
"I grow tired of your annoying insinuations." Singh Long growled. "In any case, as much work as I do, I have little time for any relationships."  
"That's too bad, you might even have a chance at Van now that you're his little pet. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be you right now!"  
"I don't think my brother swings that way." Alica reminded, disgusted by the thought.  
"I certainly hope you are right." #318 agreed.  
"Can we talk about something else?" Greg pleaded. "All this talk about male/male relationships disgusts me."  
"How about incest?" Fox suggested. "What if Van wanted Alica? He does always seem to be keeping an eye on her..."  
"Ugh, YOU ARE SICK!!!" Alica screamed, wishing she had something to throw at the girly man and shut him up.  
"I'm only stating the truth darling," Hans defended. "it is completely obvious, even Vark is jealous of the attention you get." Alica shrieked and sat back down on the couch, unable to do anything about her anger.  
"Makes you really wonder how low Van could get." Singh Long muttered.  
"As if you are any higher." Alica muttered.  
"No offense intended wu qin xiao jie." Long assured her. "I am simply questioning Van's morale, not yours."  
"None of us are spotless in here deary." Fox reminded.  
"What did he just call me, Fox?" Alica asked as politely as she could.  
"Wu qin xiao jie is the same as 'my dear young lady'." Hans answered. "Oooo, I knew he had a crush on you!"  
"It was simply a polite term of expression." #318 grumbled, unnerved by Fox's constant accusations.  
"Anyway, as far as I'm concerned he is just as evil as my brother." Alica informed them, crossing her arms in determination.  
"If this life were a war then I would be a simple soldier, wo de qin." Long objected. "Your brother is the general, and you know that well enough so don't deny it."  
"And he just called you 'my dear' in Chinese again." Fox informed.   
"If you don't shut up, _Hans Tauberman_, I'm going to make it so you can't talk again for a very long time." #318 threatened. Fox sighed, picked up his brush, and stared sadly at his broken reflection in the mirror. Then Vark came into the room carrying a small television set, put it on the ground next to Fox's vanity, and turned it on to a news channel.   
"He is ready for you #318." she said once she was done. So he left his seat and she escorted him back into Van's office.  
"I guess I was a bit hypocritial." Alica admitted to herself once they were gone.  
"Why doesn't he like me?" Fox sniffled.  
"Are you talking about #318 or Van?" Greg asked.  
"Either... or both!" Fox cried. "Oooo, I feel so sad! I miss my Busu-kun!"  
"I think either way it would be the same answer." Alica mumbled. "Few people are actually attracted to you, _Hans_."  
  
#318 sat down in front of Van's desk and watched him while he checked the information in the folder. Once he was done he looked back up at the new assassin.  
"As I said earlier, you are my head assassin now." he began. "I'm going to keep you here for quite a while, I have plenty of jobs for you to fill. So, make whatever arrangements are necessary..."  
"Would I be correct in assuming that I ought to find a more permanent residence than my current hotel room?" Singh Long asked.  
"Yes, and if you are in need of something we happen to have a few dorm rooms available in this very building." Van offered. "In fact would appreciate it if you would consider taking one of them, no need to commute to work that way."  
"If it pleases you." #318 agreed.   
"Vark, assign him a good room and bring the keys here once you're done." Van ordered. Vark nodded and went out the door and straight to her work. Van slipped the folder under his fingers across the desk to him. "As before I am certain you will find this to be a difficult assignment. If you require any additional help the rest of my assassins are at your disposal."  
Singh Long opened the folder and surveyed the contents carefully, noting what problems he would have doing the job by himself and considering his options. By the time he was done he had made his decision. Vark came back in and set a ket next to him on the desk.  
"Room 16." she announced, walking back to her little spot in the corner. #318 pocketed the key and looked back up at Van expectantly. He returned the gaze, nodding his permission to continue.   
"I suppose as head assassin that my assignents preceede those of the other assassins."  
"Yes, and as such you may request their assiasstance on your assignments at any time, simply inform me of the matter so I can straighten out my schedule."  
"Certainly." #318 nodded. "Suppose I require a bit of assisstance with this current mission. I would be gratefull for a little information on each of them so I may choose the correct person for the job."  
"You think before you act, I like your style." Van smiled. "First off is my dearest sister, she is second only to you in her skill. Doesn't seem the type does she? But she can be very deadly when she puts her mind to it."  
"Yes..." Singh Long replied, toying with the idea of getting a little more information out of Van. "as a matter of fact I have heard about just how deadly she can be..." It was risky, but he was certain he could pull it off. "even when concerning her own relatives."  
"Everyone has heard about the unfortunate indcident." Van replied. "Poor little Alica, it did seem she had gone into some kind of zoanthrope rage and murdered our father."  
"It must have been a terrible loss for you..." he pretended to commiserate. "So, why do you keep her around then? Aren't you angry?"  
"Angry... and sad... But she is still my half-sister, I could never cast her aside." Van's melancholy voice answered. "Besides, I really don't believe she did it. She keeps wondering if she could have been framed, and perhaps so."  
"What makes you think so?" #318 wonderd. "You just admitted how deadly she can be."  
"I really don't think she is a zoanthrope." Van honestly answered. "Wouldn't want to test her out myself of course."  
"Who do you think did it then?"  
"Who knows?" he shrugged. "The old man had so very many enemies... almost anyone could have done it."  
"But Alica had the most to gain, since she was set to inherit Tylon."   
"Yes. And if she did do it then it seems to have backfired on her, doesn't it? Anyhow I believe we have drifted off subject."  
"Oh..." he acted surprised. "Yes, of course. I will need to know about the other assassins as well."  
"Hans is very good, although he goes slightly psychotic at the sight of blood. The old man has not lost too much of his touch, and he is fast. However, I would not recommend Greg. He botches so many jobs..."  
"A fine assessment." #318 complimented. "In which case I shall require Alica and Hans for my mission."  
"I had anticipated you would. And may I say, excellent choice."  
"I am honored." Long replied, nodding his respect.  
  
The room fell into silence once the two were gone, save for the low mumble of the news reporter coming from the Television screen. At first everyone completely ignored the meaningless local reports, untill a news flash caught their attention.   
"This just in!" the reported announced. "The autopsy reports have just come back from the morgue. After analyzing the bodies the morticians say that the terrible rending marks covering the victim's bodies were not actually made by any kind of knife or blade as expected earlier. They are in fact claw marks..."  
"Claw marks?" Greg asked in surprise.  
"That means he's a zoanthrope too, doesn't it?" Alica wondered.  
"Of course deary." Fox replied. "Afterall who in here isn't?"   
"...these marks were obviously too large to have been made by any wild cats indigenous to the area." the reporter continued. "This is a great puzzlement to the mortician who is with us here today." The reported handed the microphone to a small pale looking man. "Eh... well, to tell you the truth I haven't seen something like this since I treated a lion tamer for his wounds."  
"So he's some kind of big cat." Alica surmised.   
"Not just _any_ cat, a _tiger_ chicky." Fox corrected. "The god of all cats! The largest, meanest thing alive... and as I've said he has an ego to match, such a shame! He could be such a lovely Bishie."  
"Good thing he's not here to hear that Fox." Greg warned.  
"I still don't understand how he could kill someone so quitely that the other person in the same bed wouldn't even wake up." Alica complained.  
"Perhaps he drugged them." Bakuryu suggested. "Maybe he slipped a little extra sleeping powder into their evening drinks so they wouldn't wake up for his midnight visit."  
"Sounds like something he would do." Fox agreed.  
"How well do you know him, Fox?" Alica questioned.  
"Not terribly well." he admitted. "I have had the occasion to work with him previously, but in a few more days I'm sure all of you will know him just as well as I do."  
"Or better." Alica muttered to herself.  
"Did you say something little half-blood?"   
"Not to you, _Hans_." Alica growled. Once again the room fell into silence. The report on the murders was over, but since there was nothing better to do Alica stared blankly at the flashing screen while thinking to herself. At first she had thought that #318 might have been someone she could relate to, and perhaps even befriend. After this incident she wasn't entirely sure. Then on the other hand she herself had killed, if for no better reason than to keep herself alive. At least he had a fairly honorable cause, protecting the lives of others. But why did he always have to act so cold, detatched and proud? Was it just his personality, or was it simply a way of distancing himself from who he was and what he was doing? Was it a way of ignoring the pain?  
The door swung open and #318 re-entered the room. He walked up to the television set and turned it off, glancing about the room and demanding their attention. _He acts so much like Van sometimes that it scares me,_ Alica thought. _The last thing we need around here is another self-centered commander._ Vark called Greg into Van's office and they all watched as he fearfully left the room. Singh Long cleared his throat to get their attention once more and then nodded graciously. _Well, at least he has more class than Van,_ Alica consoled herself.  
"I am assuming that everyone is fully aware of the implications concerning my new title." he stated.  
"More aware then we'd like to be." Bakuryu hissed.  
"Yes, of course." Fox agreed. "Are you going to order us around now too? I think I liked Van better, at least he never chocked me."  
"I bet you never came on to him like that either." #318 reminded.  
"Not in quite that manner." he admitted.  
"I really don't understand what it is about me that entices such behavior."  
"You're soooo cute when you're mad!" Long glared at him and he jumped back in his seat.  
"Unfortunately I require your assisstance for my next mission."  
"My assisstance?" Hans repeated. "The assisstance of beautiful moi? Well, of course."  
"And you as well Alica."  
"Just don't get cocky with me." she warned.  
"So, where do we meet to discuss the plans, oh gracious one?" Fox asked.  
"Meet me in dorm room #16 at 6p.m. sharp, got that?"  
"Oh, I shall have to put on my evening gown!" Hans cried.   
"As long as it covers more than what you're currently wearing." #318 complained, groaning in annoyance.  
"I will be there." Alica stated. 


	3. The Mission

**The Mission** Alica left her room around five thirty, finally feeling as though she were prepared for the night's work. She walked down the hall a short ways to room #16, wondering why they were meeting in a dorm rather than a normal meeting room. She knocked on the door quietly and waited for a few minutes. Finally the door cracked open and Singh Long peered out at her curiously.  
"You're a little early, I hadn't expected company yet." he turned to glance at the room behind him and then opened the door wider and motioned her in. She sat down on a couch in front of a nice little entertainment center. He went into a back room and started unpacking his suitcase into a dresser.  
"So you're moving in here?" she assumed.  
"Van requested that I take a room in the building." he replied.  
"Sounds like him." she agreed. "So why did you ask us to meet here? I'm sure Van would have been more than happy to assign you a special meeting room."  
"I decided not to bother him with a request." She glanced casually about the furnished room, noting that the furnishings weren't much different from her own. However the room lacked any kind of personal touch whatsoever. Except for the entertainment center and a few windows the walls were completely bare. There were no kind of pictures or posters gracing them, no kind of personal belongings lying around on the floor, nothing at all that would indicate anyone was living there.   
"Barren, isn't it?" he asked, as he walked back into the room. "If I ever have the time I think I'll go back home to get a few things." He sat down in a large, overstuffed reclined at the end of the couch, put his feet up, and took a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket.  
"I hope you'll get a meeting room next time." Alica complained, thinking about how badly the room would start to smell if he smoked in it.  
"I'll mention it to him tomorrow." Long replied, lighting the cigarette and taking a hit. "It bothers you, ne? But it relaxes me."  
"It's really terrible for your health." she scolded. He studied her face for a moment before replying.  
"I do believe you're showing concern for me." She considered denying it, but couldn't think of a way to do that without admitting that she was only complaining because of her own dislike of the smell. He took one more drag of it and then held it in front of his face and stared at it for a minute. "You are right, I will live without it." He licked the tip of his finger and put it out before flicking it into a nearby trash can.  
"Don't quit on my account." He pulled the rest of the pack out of his pocket and chucked it into the trash can as well.   
"I'm not. I never really liked it much."  
"Then why did you do it?"  
"As I said, it relaxed me."  
"I see..." They sat silently in the room for a few minutes, the tick of a clock on the wall the only noise they could hear inside the room. "So... I, uh... guess I was a little hard on you earlier today..."  
"Think nothing of it." They sat there for a few more minutes, glancing disinterestedly around the room for lack of anything better to do. "So why are you here?" #318 asked, assuming that Alica Tylon would have better uses of her free time. "If you want something then you'd better ask about it before Fox gets here, unless you are in need of his presence."  
"Ugh..." Alica moaned, wishing that Fox weren't coming at all. "Alright, but just remember you asked. One question: Why do you act as if you like me when the others are around? When we're alone you're so cold."  
"Well, I couldn't have you getting the wrong idea now could I? What with Fox's accusations and all." he looked back at the trash can, wishing he'd at least finished the one cigarette. "Anyway, the simple fact is that I believe you deserve more respect than anyone else in that freak room."  
"Because I'm female?"  
"No."  
"Oh... so you don't like me at all?"  
"I like you as a person, but I have no romantic interest in you whatsoever."  
"That's comforting." she stated, trying to assure herself of it. Then someone knocked at the door, she checked her watch, surprised to find out that it was six already. #318 went to answer the door and found Fox standing on the other side. He was dressed in a low-cut, hot pink evening gown with a long slit up one side, showing most of his left leg. He had a fake fur wrap around his shoulders and high-heels and a purse to match. Long smacked himself in the forehead and groaned in dismay before holding the door open and allowing him to enter.  
"What's a matter deary?" Fox asked. "The purse was a little much, wasn't it? But I _so_ love a matching ensamble!"  
"Go sit down Fox." Singh Long ordered. Fox waltzed gracefully into the room, trying very hard to keep his balance on the high heels. Alica couldn't suppress a slight giggle at the sight.  
"I'd like to see you walk in these!" he complained.  
"I could walk in them better than you can actually." Alica said.  
"Can we please get down to business now?" Long requested.   
"You know, I have one just like this in my closet. Same design except it's black, and a size too big, but it would look so lovely on you... Why it would blend almost perfectly with your hair!"  
"One more such comment and I'll wrap that fake fur around your neck and hang you from my ceiling!"  
"Ah! How rude..."  
"To business!" #318 commanded.   
"Yes sir!" Fox said, adding a mock salute. Singh Long groaned in annoyance and fell down into his recliner.  
"So, first of all what kind of job is this?" Alica asked.  
"A multiple kill of course," he explained, rising from the chair. "a fairly difficult one." He walked back into his room and shuffled through a few things before emerging with the manilla folder contining the information on the assignment. He sat back down in his chair and studied the information for a moment. "This needs to be done quickly. I thought about using the old man, but he doesn't seem to appreciate my skills."  
"True, he probably wouldn't obey orders from you very well." Alica admitted. "Not unless Van was looming somwehere nearby."  
"We have 20 people to kill."  
"Oh, really?" Fox cried excitedly. "Oooo, this is going to be a busy night!"  
"You aren't getting anywhere near them Fox."  
"What!?! Why not?" the transvestite sobbed.   
"I have another job for you."  
"Aw, no fair! No action tonight for the lovely Fox."  
"So you and I are doing all the work?" Alica asked.   
"I will do all the work." Long got up from his chair and walked over to the coffe table sitting in front of the couch and knelt down beside it. He selected a few papers from the folder and spread them out on the desk for all to see. Alica and Fox leaned foreward to peer at what looked to be a map of a large complex. "What I need you for Alica, is to paralyze their security system. Think you can do it?" She bent over and studied the map.  
"This is one of the AMA's buildings." she recognized it. "I've broken into it before, just tell me which levels you need access to and I'll do it."  
"Good." said, nodding his appreciation. "Now Hans..."  
"Fox!" he corrected.  
"What I'll need you for, _Fox_... is to pre-occupy the perimeter guards."  
"Ooo, you mean I get to create a diversion? Great! I love creating diversions! I'll wear my lovely black mini-dress and put my hair down and wear my fake boobs under my push-up bra..."   
"I do NOT want to hear these meaningless details!!!" #318 cried, pounding his fists on the table. Both Fox and Alica jumped back in surprise and Long turned to glare at the shocked man. "I already have to kill 20 people tonight..." he growled. "But give me a reason to hurt you, Hans, and you'll be the 21st, got that?"  
"Y-yessss S-sir." Fox stuttered, cowering in the corner of the sofa. Singh Long got up from the floor and walked calmly over to sit in his recliner. "I'm giving you both an hour to get ready, then we'll meet back here and leave, understood?"  
"Only an hour?" Hans whined. Long glared at him. "Fine, fine..." he jumped up from his seat and headed for the door. "I'll be back in an hour then, toodles!"  
"That pathetic excuse of a man annoys me to no end!" #318 growled.  
"You might as well get used to it." Alica told him. "When Van made you the top assassin he wasn't joking, you'll be here for awhile."  
"What do you think Van would do if I killed him?"  
"Seriously?" she looked into his face and saw that he was clearly very serious about it. "I don't know. He doesn't like Fox much himself, no one really does, but I doubt you would go unpunished."  
"What sort of punishment?"  
"Knowing Van, he would probably kill someone you cared about. Maybe one of your family members."  
"_Damn_." He popped the chair's foot-rest up and leaned back untill he was staring at the ceiling. "Well, you'd better get ready to go. I'm sure you have some sort of equipment to pack."  
"You've given me more than enough time, and I had a few more things to say to you."  
"Be quick about it." Alica wasn't quite sure exactly what to say. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know more about his past, his family, and who he was, but how much was too much to ask?  
"Tell me something about your family." she requested. "What makes them so important to you?"  
"Good question," he agreed. "can't answer it."  
"What do you mean? You don't know what makes them so important that you're about to kill 20 people to keep them alive?"  
"I suppose it's simply the fact that they're my family. Otherwise I'm not very close to them at all."  
"How sad."  
"No more than your family."  
"True..."  
"You know, Van doesn't think you killed your father."  
"He doesn't?" This was a surprise to Alica, as she felt Van had always done his best to make her feel guilty about it. "Why not?"  
"He says he doesn't think you're a zoanthrope."  
"Good." she stated, glad she had managed to keep something a secret from him. "Let him think that."  
"Perhaps." #318 replied casually.  
"You won't tell him, will you?" Alica demanded.  
"Perhaps not." he answered slyly. Her eyes narrowed and she growled and glared at him in undisguised anger. _Finally I have this one secret I have kept to myself, and he could ruin it!_ He was still sitting back, looking at the celiing, but he heard her well enough. "Don't be angry with me, I did mean that I don't intend to inform him of it."  
"Really?" she blinked in surprise and calmed back down. "But I thought you... You are so like..."  
"Van's little pet?" he guessed. "Please, spare me the indignity."  
"No? Hm... well there's more to you than meet the eye."  
"I don't belong to anyone." he continued. "No matter how much they may think otherwise, I am my own man."  
"I see that." They sat quietly in the room once more for a few minutes. Silently contemplating what they had just been discussing while the clock ticked away the minutes.  
"What are you still here for?" Singh Long asked at the ceiling. "Don't you have something better to do?"  
"Do you always sit around doing nothing like this?" Alica countered.  
"I am thinking. An activity more people ought to participate in if you ask me. Now, you are here for what reason?"  
"I guess, because... I like you."  
"What!?!" he sat straight up in his chair and stared at her.  
"I don't mean it romantically!" she explained.   
"That is still quite a statement." he commented, still staring at her face intently. His gaze was so intense she had to turn away and look elsewhere. "Do you... have any idea how long it's been since someone said something like that to me?"  
"Of course not." she replied, thinking it was a silly question.  
"I am honored."  
"D-don't be." she was getting really embarrassed. _I knew I shouldn't have said that! What did I go and say that for anyway? _He chuckled at her embarassment, it was the first time she'd heard him laugh that didn't sound evil or scary.  
"Forgive me if I've made you uncomfortable."  
"No, it was my own fault."  
"If you would, forgive me for being so cold towards you. It is second nature to me."  
"I can forgive you for that." They shared a smile before settling back down in their seats for another moment of silent thought.   
"If you are really bored you can turn the TV on." Long offered.  
"No." Alica declined, she bent back over the table and studied the maps again. "You didn't say which levels of the building you needed access to." He groaned and slapped himself across the forehead.  
"I let myself become distracted from the mission, how foolish!" he scolded, getting up from the recliner and walking back over to the table. "Most of the people I need to kill are down in this area." He pointed to the west wing on the first floor. "The rest are up here." A small room on the second floor.   
"And how much time do we have to do this?"  
"As long as Hans can distract the guards. As distracting as he is I'm sure we'll have more than enough time, and it won't take long."  
"How are you going to pull this off? Killing 20 people as quickly as you will have to is no easy feat."  
"I think I will simply walk in to the rooms and slaughter them." #318 explained. "As long as you have the security systems down we should get out quickly enough."  
"You know, once I take the security systems down, I could be of some use." Alica offered.  
"If you like, you can take the four people up here." he said, pointing to the room on the second floor.   
"It would go more quickly that way." she agreed.   
"Alright, it's settled then. So, you'd better go get ready for it." She got up from the couch and turned towards the door.  
"Singh, may I ask you one more thing before I go?"  
"Actually Long would be the appropriate name, what is it?"  
"Long..." she turned back towards him. "How do you feel right after you kill someone?" There was a surprised look in his eyes for a moment.  
"How do I feel?" he repeated. "Sit down, sit down." He motioned to the couch. She sat back down at the end by the door and he sat on the other end of the couch. He slouched down in the cushions and made himself comfortable. "How do I feel?" he asked himself, staring blankly off into nothing. "I'm not sure I feel anything anymore."  
"Nothing at all?"  
"The first year is always the most difficult." he remembered, glancing over at her. "Yes, I know when it happened. You have not been killing very long, but just long enough to realize that with each kill some small part inside of you dies." Alica nodded. _It is so true,_ she thought, unable to say anything in reply to his statement. He stared back up at the ceiling. "It has been a long time since I felt the pain of guilt." he continued. "I think most of me is dead already. But it still hurts you... I see it."  
"Yes." she admitted, feeling powerless to do otherwise.  
"I can remember... killing so many people..." he trailed off, a pained expression on his face. "This is about the time I would cry. I used to cry. Do you believe me? Can you imagine me crying?"  
"Well..."  
"But my tears dried up long ago, there is nothing left now, just emptiness." A single tear fell down Alica's cheek. She could not help but feel his pain and sorrow, for it was the same pain that she herself felt. She felt it every day, every single time she took another's life. She couldn't stand it. "I remember... sometimes it hurt so much I thought I was going to die. But you don't die... not physically. Only your heart dies." She sobbed, the pain was too much to bare.  
"Is this... Is this what's going to happen to me?"  
"Perhaps, eventually." Another tear fell down from her cheek, wetting a tiny spot on her lab coat. Then she felt his hand brush over hers, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Cry Alica." She looked up at him in surprise. "Did you think I was going to tell you not to?" She nodded her head, and he shook his. "Cry, Alica Tylon. Cry while you still can." 


	4. Driving Him Crazy

**Driving Him Crazy** She cried out and lurched towards him, burying her face in his chest and drowning her sorrows in his warmth. He put one hand over her back and patted it gently, looking down at her with an expression of sorrow that almost resembled envy. He tried to cry, but could not get a single tear to come to his eyes. He held her next to him untill her cries died down to sobs, finally she pulled herself away and wiped her eyes.  
"I'm sorry, I usually don't get this emotional..."  
"You don't have to apologize to me, you're not the only person who's ever cried on my shoulder you know. It has not been long... and I suspect it will happen again soon enough."  
"Who else cried on your shoulder?" Alica wondered, unable to think of anyone who would do so except... "Fox?"  
"Ai ya!*" Long cursed, slapping himself across the forehead. "Do you really think I would let that psycho bitch anywhere near me? Ugh..."  
"Sorry."  
"For your information, I was talking about my sister."  
"Oh, your family. I almost forgot about them."  
"I don't blame you, I sometimes forget about them myself."  
"But... aren't they the only reason you're here?"  
"It is easy to get caught up in my work while I am away from them." he explained.  
"I understand." They sat there on the couch for a few moments, just facing each other and staring own at the cushions. "Anyway, I uh... better go get ready for our assignment now..."  
"You know where the door is." he stated, waiting for her to get up and leave.  
"Uh... Long..."  
"Yes?"  
"Thank you."  
"For what?"  
"For...what just happened, for what you did. You could have just..."  
"Well, I am not completely cold-hearted. I just like it to seem that way to most people."   
"I see." she looked up into his face for a moment, before standing up off the couch and walking towards the door. "I'll be right back, I just have to bring a few things to help me hack into their security system."  
"Whatever you do, try and get back before Fox does. I don't want to be alone with him."  
"Alright." She sent him a smile before walking through the door and closing it softly behind her. He made himself comfortable on the couch and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out exactly why he had chosen to be nice to her anyway. _Maybe it's the fact that we're both assassins against our will?_ He supposed that it was nice to have someone in the same situation to commiserate with, and he had to admit that she reminded him so much of what he had been like when he first became an assassin. _Those days of sorrow and regret are over for me now... but it is nice to see someone who is still alive._  
He had to admit it had been a long time since he'd been very close to anyone. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered with relationships, or if he even wanted them at all. _Caring about people is not worth the pain that comes when they hurt you,_ he tried to remind himself. _But... lonliness can be painfull too... even to me. Maybe she can just be my friend, that way she can't hurt me as much._ Then there was a knock on the door. He got up and walked over to the door, peering through the peep-hole cautiously. _I hope it's Alica and not... ugh! It had to be Fox, didn't it?_  
He reluctantely opened the door and allowed Hans to enter his room again. He was wearing the outfit he said he would be, a black mini-dress combined with black high heels. Long groaned in disgust at how much of his fake chest was showing. The scariest thing about this outfit was that, with his hair down and so much make-up on, he could actually pass for a woman without anyone being the wiser.  
"What's a matter #318?" He covered his eyes to keep himself from looking at Fox anymore. "You don't look so good right now, and that's saying a lot since you usually look..."   
"I believe I'm going to go blind!" he interrupted. "Sit down Fox, not one more word out of you! And for your own life's sake, don't cross your legs!"  
"Aw..." he replied, walking towards the couch. "but don't you think I look pretty?"  
"Pretty disturbing. Not to mention disgusting beyond belief... Now go sit down before I decide to go steal a lab coat and tie it over your hideous flesh!"  
"Hideous!?!" he sat down in the middle of the couch. "Ah, you're so ruuude! Whatever is so wrong with a little bishie?"  
"I fail to comprehend how anyone could find such cross-dressing in the least bit attractive." Long mumbled, leaving the door open and sitting back down in his recliner.  
"It's all about beauty, dear!" Fox explained, fishing a compact out of his little black purse and using the mirror to check on his face make-up.  
"It's times like this that I really wish I were ugly."  
"What a horrible thing to say! How _could_ you be ashamed of such bishounen looks?"  
"I would rather look like Greg than be called bishounen! I am not!"  
"It has two meanings you know. It can also mean lovely or pretty without meaning feminine, although I have to admit I wasn't using it that way."  
"What about me looks feminine?" he demanded, jumping from his seat and walking into his bathroom to look in the mirror. "Name one thing!"  
"Your hair." Fox replied, staying on the couch. "It is lovely long hair, you really ought to wear it down sometimes..."  
"My hair?" he asked, flipping his ponytail foreward and glaring at it suspiciously. "You're just saying that because Alica wears her hair the same way! And we both wear glasses... I don't remind you of her do I?"   
"Oh, not at all!" Fox replied, laughing devilishly. "Despite the whole feminine thing I'm only attracted to men, deary. And Alica is really such a pest... Although it is a strange coincedence that both of Tylon's best assassins wear loose ponytails and glasses." Long considered cutting his hair so Hans would leave him alone, but couldn't even think about actually doing it.   
"No, it will not be cut. I like it this way... I've had it this way most of my life." he shook his head. "But if you think I'm going to wear it down for you you're in for a good strangling!"  
"Would you like me to name something else then? I will..."  
"Do it and I swear it will be the last word out of your mouth!"   
"Ahem!" Alica's voice driften in from the doorway. "Am I interrupting something?"  
"Alica, thank god!" #318 said, rushing back into the main room as she entered. "Yes, hopefully you are interrupting Fox's death, because if he doesn't shut up I swear I am going to kill him!"  
"What did he do this time?"  
"He called me bishounen!"  
"So what?"  
"So what!?!" he repeated. "Do I look _feminine _to you!?!"  
"Well... uh... not exactly feminine, although you are lovely... but I'm sure Fox didn't mean..." she looked over at the transvestite's outfit. "What am I saying? Of course he meant it that way."  
"I rest my case." Singh Long complained, folding his arms in resolution. "Anyway, we have a mission to perform. Follow me, you two." He walked out the door and held it open while they followed it out, locking it securely behind them.   
"Aw, he is such a gentleman, don't you think?" Fox asked Alica. "Holding the door open for the ladies."   
"_Ladies_?" #318 growled. Alica looked down hand saw his hands twitching uncontrollably, as if yearning to squeeze someone's neck.  
"Hans, I think you'd better shut up unless you want to meet an early death."  
"And have the entire world deprived of my beauty?" he asked, turning to walk down the hall. "What a shame that would be! Now we can't have that..."   
"One day I _am_ going to kill him." Long whispered in Alica's ear. "I just have to wait until I can find someone else to frame for it."  
"That's not a good idea." she disagreed. "My brother is good at seeing through deceptions."  
"I wouldn't do it unless I knew I could get away with it." he explained. "And I know your brother well enough."   
"Fine, have it your way." she shrugged and followed after Fox.  
"Where does that pussy think he's going anyway?" Singh Long grumbled, following after her.  
"Down to the parking lot." Alica replied. "Are we all going to take one car? It would probably be quicker that way."  
"We'll take mine."   
"Is it fast? In case we need to make a speedy getaway."  
"I believe all assassins are in need of fast cars."  
"Yes, but do you have one?" He chuckled at her cleverness.  
"Yes, I do."  
"So there you two are." Fox stated once they caught up to him. "Are you two done flirting, can we get to the job now?"  
"Flirting!?!" #318 exploded. "You think we're flirting!?!"  
"You have an unbelieveably short temper today..." Alica commented as Long lunged at Hans and Hans started running towards the stairs. "I wouldn't advise killing him, Long!" She yelled, walking calmly after them. She lost sight of them once they hit the stairs, but she could hear their footsteps pounding down the levels as they ran. Finally they reached the parking lot and Fox let out a feminine screach before being silenced. _As much as I despise Fox I really hope Long hasn't killed him already, _she thought.  
Her steps quickened as she hurried down the stairway, when she got into the parking lot she found that Long had pinned Hans against one of the vehicles. He glared into Fox's eyes and had a choke hold on his neck. She couldn't supress a hearty laugh at the colors his face was turning. Long noticed her presence and also started laughing, tightening his hold just a little more. Fox's face turned an unimagineable shade of purple and he looked as thought he were about to faint. Long held the hold untill Hans was finally unconscious and the dragged his limp body towards a nearby black car.  
"I really ought to have killed him." #318 mumbled. "But I can't have Van getting mad at me and hurting my family, his pathetic life is not worth it."  
"Good decision." Alica agreed. Long stuffed Hans into the back seat of the car and then opened both the front doors and climbed into the driver's seat. Alica quickly jumped in the passenger's side and he reved the engine.   
"So what are we going to do about him when we get there?" Alica asked.  
"If he doesn't wake up before we get there, I'll find a way to wake him up." Singh Long replied in a tone of voice that suggested that whatever way he found to wake Hans up would not be pleasant.  
"I see." Long pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the city streets. "I assume you have directions to the building."  
"As always, Van's information on the mission is quite complete." #318 answered.  
"You enjoy working for him, don't you?" Alica wondered.  
"Yes and no. Admittedly I get along with him better than I did with my last employer who mysteriously dissapeared one day."  
"I see... you really don't get along with many people at all do you?"  
"Do you?"  
"Now that's not really a fair question to ask a Tylon. Besides, I asked first."  
"The answer to your question is obvious."  
"So is the answer to yours."  
"Why are we still talking to each other then?"  
"I think it's because we have something in common."  
"Maybe..." They drove through the darkened city for almost an hour before Fox awoke. At first there was just a bit of low mumbling, then he sat up and rubbed his sore neck. He took a compact out of his purse and looked in the mirror.   
"Oh, my beautiful neck!" he almost sobbed. He immediately began trying to cover the huge blue and purple bruise with his make-up. "Oh this is terrible! I'll never cover all of this, it's so dark!"  
"Just remember what got you into it in the first place and don't do it again." #318 ordered.  
"I'm going to be scarred for life!" Fox cried.  
"What ridiculous nonsense." Alica protested. "It's not half that bad, it should go away the next time you transform."  
"Yes, you're right!" he said hopefully. "But if I transform now it'll ruin my outfit... Oh, curse you 318! I never knew you could be such a bully!"  
"I did warn you repeatedly not to flirt with me, Hans. The fault is your own."  
"But I couldn't help it, you're such a bishie!" Long hit the brakes and the car squealed to a halt. He turned back to glare at Fox, who nearly swallowed his adam's apple in fear.  
"What did you just call me?"  
"N-nothing... Oh, gracious and glorious one! P-please, have mercy!" Alica laughed at his cowering, glad to have Singh Long there to put him in his place. #318 turned back to the wheel, started the car up again and drove off.  
"Your days are numbered Hans, remember that."  
"N-numbered?" he repeated nervously. "What do you mean numbered? All days are numbered acording to what day of the month or day of the year..."  
"SILENCE!!! I will no longer listen to your pointless prattling!"  
"Y-yes, great and glorious leader."  
"Stop calling me such ridiculous names!"  
"Y-yes sir." Alica could not suppress another laugh.  
"This is the most fun I've had in ages!" she exclaimed. "May I torment him too?"  
"Do whatever you like." Long answered, she giggled with glee.  
"N-no, pleeeease! Alica..." Fox whined. "I never meant any of those horrible things I said about you, I..."  
"Oh, shut up!" Alica cried, smacking him across the face.  
"Ah!" Hans cried, holding his sore cheek and gaping in shock.  
"I've always wanted to do that." she said, rubbing her hand and delighting in the euphoric feeling that came from finally hurting the annoying man.  
"Feels good doesn't it?" #318 guessed. "Revenge can be sweet."  
"Yes... strangely enough it does feel very good. I think I'll hit him again..." she swung at him.  
"No!" he cried, ducking out of the way. "Curse you two! I hate you, both of you! First your bruise up my neck, and now my beautiful face! How do you ever expect me to distract the guards when I look like this? They won't even take a second glance at me!"  
"You will do your job or you will answer to me." Singh Long threatened.  
"And I have hated you ever since I met you, Hans!" Alica added. "I don't care what you think of me!"   
"I don't care either, as long as he's not attracted to me." Long admitted.  
"Well I really can't help that deary." Hans replied.  
"What did I tell you about using terms of endearment on me, Hans!?!" he growled.  
"S-sorry... I-I won't do it again, I swear!"  
"Jie wen wu pi gu."  
"If you insist."  
"Why, you little...!" He stepped on the gas again and lunged over the backseat, grabbing for Fox's neck. Hans dodged him fairly well for a few seconds before getting caught.  
"Huh? What was that all about?" Alica wondered. "Hans?"  
"He... told me... to kiss his @$$." Fox explained before #318 tightened his grip so that he couldn't speak.   
"Really Hans, you should have known better." Singh Long pulled one arm back and punched him in the face, sending him flying through the rear window with a crash. Then there was a squeaking sound as his body slid down the back of the car and a thud as he hit the pavement below.  
"Long, are you trying to kill him?"   
"If I were trying to kill him he would already be dead." He turned back to the steering wheel without another word and speed off.   
"We can't just leave him there!"  
"Why not?"  
"What happens when Van finds out!?!" He hit the brakes again.  
"Goddamnit!" He turned off the gas and let the car sit idle, and then leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "Back at home I could kill just about anyone I wanted and get away with it."  
"This isn't your home." Alica reminded.  
"I know that."  
"Are you always this short-tempered?"  
"Not usually... unless I'm working." He fished around in his pockets for something and his hand came out empty. "What I wouldn't do for a cigarette..."  
"Ah, so that's the problem."  
"Possibly."  
"Were you addicted?"  
"I didn't think so untill now."  
"How long did you smoke for?"  
"Only a couple years."  
"Long enough."  
"I guess." They sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Fox to walk back to them. "I picked a bad day to quit."  
"Eh, could have been worse."  
"True... Thank you Alica."  
"Huh?"  
"I think that if you weren't here I would have killed him, but you were here to stop me. Why did you stop me?"  
"I guess I don't like to see anyone face my brother's wrath." He nodded and closed his eyes, controlling his breathing. The craving for cigarette smoke almost so bad he could taste it. "And I guess I wouldn't want anything to happen to your beloved family."  
"I have been foolish." Singh Long admitted. "I never should have allowed..."  
"Shhh! Fox is coming." He turned to look out the window at the tattered man who walked up to the side of the car.   
"I think you owe me an apology." Fox sniffled.  
"I think that if you don't shut up and get into the car I'm going to owe Van an apology." Alica laughed at the remark and Hans scoffed, but did as he was told.   
"Now we need to get down to business." #318 lectured. "I cannot work with your obnoxious comments, Hans. And we are almost there. I need full cooperation from both of you to get this job done, is that clear?"  
"Crystal." Fox mumbled.   
"I'm sure that if you don't cooperate with me Van won't be so eager to spare you from my wrath."  
"I got the point the first time." he whined.   
  
*My god! 


	5. Bloody Moral

**Bloody Morals** The three stood at a darkened corner, gazing intently at the building ahead of them. They were shrouded in darkness. The lights poured over the thick, brick walls of the compound and into the streets, but stopped just beyond their reach. Two security guards stood idly in front of the well-lighted building, taking comfort in it's security. They were confident in their abilities to defend the place they were set to guard, perhaps a little too confident. The streets were completely silent save for the soft snapping sound of one man cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Then he laughed evilly at the thought of what lie ahead.  
"I've heard that cracking your knuckles too often gives you arthritis." Fox scolded.  
"I'm not in the mood for this now, Hans." #318 warned solemnly.  
"You ought to find something to calm yourself down before going to work." Alica advised.  
"The only thing that would calm me down this very second is ringing Fox's neck."  
"How rude." Fox mumbled, gingerly rubbing his sore, bruised, and swollen neck.  
"Work will calm me down." he continued. "And I don't need to be calm untill after it is all over anyway."  
"Whatever you say." she sighed.  
"Move out, Fox." he ordered. "Get them away from the door, and then buy us as much time as you can."  
"I'm such a mess," Fox sniffled. "Look at me! This is terrible!" He walked into the light, revealing his ragged appearance. His dress and skin had been cut up badly, in some places even shredded by the glass from the car's broken rear window. Blood stained his skin, smeared about each wound in light smudges and darker droplets. He had a black eye, and his neck looked precisely as it should after having been strangled halfway to death. "And to top it all off my mascara is smearing!" he cried. "I shall have to pretend I've been raped or something. I really don't know how you can expect me to..."  
"Shut up and get to work!"  
"Eep! Alright, alright! I'm going!" He walked further away from them, towards the lighted building and the guards.   
"Long..." Alica complained. "you're being awfully-"  
"I know." he interrupted. "Can't you see that I'm in a foul mood right now? I don't want to snap at you Alica... I don't know why I don't want to snap at you, I snap at everyone."  
"Why? Just because you're so miserable?"  
"Forget about it. Let's just get the job done and then get out of here."  
"Alright, I'll just have to interrogate you later then." He groaned and glanced at her curiously for a moment, and then turned to keep an eye on Fox. They watched curiously as Fox approaced the guards, unable to hear his exact words over the whine of his feminine voice. The guards certainly seemed surprised to see him, and before long he lead them away from the entrance to the building. Long and Alica cautiously crept from the shadows and darted over the the door. Alica punched in the security code, only to find out that they'd changed it again. So she pulled a small lap-top computer out of her jacket and plugged it into the system.   
"How long is this going to take?" #318 demanded, glancing around nervously.  
"Shhh." Alica replied, concentrating on her work. It didn't take her long to hack into the door's controls and soon enough the door opened and they darted inside. Once there she plugged into the main security system and hacked into it as well. Long started towards the inner doors.  
"Not yet." Alica warned.   
"Tell me when you're done." Long replied. He was very impatient and started pacing back and forth between the front doors and the set of doors ahead that he would have to enter. Alica finally broke through the system, giving them access to the levels they needed. She glanced anxiously at the elevator before packing up her notebook. He noticed her glance. "You know, I never ordered you to kill them." he reminded her. "You don't have to."  
"But if I don't it will take you longer and we'll risk getting caught."  
"I'm sure Fox can handle a couple security guards for a few minutes."  
"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do..." Alica thought about not killing them, just for a moment. She wanted it so badly. "but this is my job too, and... They won't be my first kills, and they sure as hell won't be my last either. I'm going to be in the business for awhile, as far as Van's concerned. So I'd better knuckle down and get used to it, right?" He nodded in agreement and understanding.  
"I appreciate your help, Alica. Thank you. This would be the second time you've saved my @$$ this evening."  
"Well... it's not a bad looking @$$ I guess. I think it's worth saving." A look of complete shock covered his face, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter.   
"Did you really think I meant it that way? Long, I was just joking!"  
"Ugh... I think I've been hanging around Hans far too long."  
"Heh... why would you say that?"  
"Imagine if he had said something like that to me..."  
"Oh, so you thought I was coming on to you?"  
"Uh... never mind. Let's get to work."  
"Right." She gave him a nod and headed for the elevator while he turned and walked through the doors ahead. He hated to admit it, in fact he tried his best to ignore the fact that even after all these years his conscience still balked at the thought of another kill. But what scared him even more was that a small part inside of him was starting to enjoy the killing. _I don't know which is worse, to live with the pain of fearing what I am, or give in to temptation and accept it._ He hated the job he was forced to perform, but at the same time he could not deny that when he took his anger out on his victims he felt a strange sense of pleasure.  
_No!_ he thought. _I will not become like the others. I will never enjoy killing, never!_ It was a battle inside him, between his conscience and his sanity. With every step he took towards the door he could feel himself losing it, he already had so little control of his powers. He kept on telling himself that the people he was about to kill would die sooner or later if they were Van's enemies. _At least I am able to save the lives of my loved ones._ But it was little comfort against the continuous searing pain brought on by his work. _One day when I have enough of Tylon's stinking money I will kill my father and take them both away from this. _  
It was the only thing he worked for, the only thing keeping him alive. The hope that one day he would be able to change the way things were. To save his family for good and never have to kill again. It was this goal that he devoted every waking moment to. It was for his mother and his sister that he killed anyone Tylon sent him against. _I hope they appreciate what I'm doing for them. But they cannot know, not untill all of this is over. I must have faith in their love, and faith in myself._  
He burst through the set of double doors, all of nearly a dozen people looking up at him in shock and surprise. They didn't recognize him, the looks on their faces questioned what reason he had to be there. He simply smiled and walked over to the closest man. Then he grabbed his head, twisting his neck untill a sharp crack signaled that he was gone. The faces of the others twisted in horror and their screams echoed emptilly through the room as he morphed into a huge beast. More powerful muscles ripped through his limbs, black and orange fur grew about his body, and claws sprouted from his hands and fangs from his mouth. He growled in fury and advanced on the helpless pray.   
  
Alica boarded the elevator and pressed the right button, standing in place and waiting anxiously as the elevator rose to the right floor. _Why did I volunteer to do this?_ she wondered. _All that talk about getting used to this job was bull$#!%. That's not the reason I'm doing this. But if that wasn't the reason she had accepted the job, then what was? Am I doing this because I like Long? What a stupid reason to get myself deeper into this!_ She couldn't even understand her own motives. _I could have done something else for him. Did I think that this wouldn't make any difference since I've killed so many people already?_ She shook her head sadly.  
_Some great reasoning,_ she thought as the elevator reached her floor. _Too late to turn back now. _The doors swung open and she walked down the hallway, stopping at the first doorway she found. _I hope that whoever's sleeping in here is ready to meet their maker,_ she thought. She truly meant it too, she would've hated to kill someone who wasn't ready to go. She opened the door and up to the bed, staring at a sleeping young woman, not much younger than herself. Her fingers twitched and a long, sharp claw appeared on one hand. She used it to quickly slit the lady's throat. _Such is life._  
  
In a flash he was a man again. He rubbed his hands over the bare skin of his arms, thankful that he only felt a thin layer of hair rather than several thick layers of fur. He sighed and glanced around the room, his blurred vision picking up several silent, bloodied forms lying nearby. Finally he spied a twinkling in one corner and picked his glassess off a dead man's corpse. He held them up to his face and then used the tail of his shirt and a little spit to wipe the specks of blood from the lenses. Then he set them back on his nose, pushed them up too his face, and walked out to the next room.   
_Good thing the walls here are so thick,_ he thought. _I doubt anyone heard a thing._ He walked down the hall and into a smaller room, and closed the door behind him. Five people stood idly around the tables, and ignored his entrance. He walked up to the closest one, a middle-aged lady. She turned towards him with a curious look on her face. He kicked her in the chest so hard you could hear her ribs crack as she fell to the floor. Her scream alerted the others, who ran for the door, but he beat them there, and then he beat them to death. _If my count is right I'm missing one person. That can't be good._  
He stopped for a moment, wondering where the other person might be. He pushed the bodies into a corner and opened both doors to the room. He figured the person would return, provided they hadn't heard the screaming. He thought about hiding behind a table, but realized that the person may sense something wrong if they saw no one in the room. So he stood idly by a table as the others had been doing, thinking he could kill the person before it could discover what was going on. Soon enough a man emerged from behind a door and walked straight for the room.   
He gazed at the room for a moment, then gave it a closer look._ Does he suspect something?_ Long wondered. He studied the other man and glanced at the door he'd come out of, realizing that it was a bathroom door. _Good, then he won't piss on himself before he dies._ The man looked puzzled for a moment, and then turned away from the room right before he got to the doorway. Long smiled and walked out of the room. He followed him down the hall, gaining on him untill he was scant yards away.  
"Excuse me, Sir. I've been looking for you."  
"Oh?" the man turned around to face him and the butt of his wrist connected with his jaw, crushing the bone as he screamed.   
_In the palm of my hands,_ #318 thought. _It would be more difficult to take candy from a baby._ The man fell to the ground and held his broken jaw. Singh Long walked up behind him, and then jumped on his back, snapping it with a sickening crack. Then he stomped the man's skull into the ground and walked strolled back towards the front of the building, leaving bloody footprints behind. He walked over to the elevator, waiting next to it for a few moments before the doors opened and Alica stepped out.   
"I see you have bloodied your hands." he noticed, glancing down at the crimson liquid covering her from the tips of her fingers to the sleeves of her white lab coat.  
"I see you've bloodied your entire person..." she replied, looking over his blood-splattered clothing. A few droplets even graced his face, and yet... "except for your glasses."  
"I need to be able to see through them, the blood spots bother me."  
"Do they bother you more than the blood on you hands?" He frowned at the question.  
"Let's get out of here." She nodded and they walked through the door. They looked up and down the street for Fox, and saw him at the other end, still talking to the security guards. "Time to go Hans." Long muttered, walking towards them. He came up behind the guards and Fox spotted him. The guards were about to turn and look also, but Hans screamed, diverting their attention once more. Long gave them both a quick rap on the temples and they fell to the ground, unconscious. He dragged their bodies back to the building's doorway.  
"Why didn't we just do that in the first place!?!" Fox demanded, frustrated.  
"Because I didn't want you going psycho at the sight of blood once the killing started, _psycho bitch_." #318 explained.  
"Good plan." Alica agreed. "But why did we even bring Hans in the first place then?"  
"I hate it when you call me that!" Hans whined.  
"You hate it when we call you anything, Hans." #318 commented, setting the guards down at the entrance. "And to tell you the truth, Alica, I did want someone watching the entrance for us."  
"That's only because it's always something rude!" Fox argued.  
"Get back to the car." Long ordered. "Now!"  
"Y-yes m-my lovely leader." he replied, cringing and then running back to the car. Alica and Long followed at a more leisurely walk.   
"I trust you took care of all four of them." #318 assumed.  
"Yes." Alica replied with a nod, unable to keep a slight shake from her voice.  
"Alica, is there something you're not telling me?"   
"I just... regret it." she lied.  
"Hm..." he studied her face for a moment and then decided to bring it up once they were safely back at Tylon. They reached the car and climbed in, he stuck the key in and turned to car on, listening to the quiet purr of his engine for a moment. "Fox, Alica, good job."  
"Wha...?" Hans mumbled. "D-did you just... thank me?"  
"Don't take it for more than what is it, Hans." #318 warned.  
"It was my pleasure." Alica lied again. Singh Long gave her a critical glance that she shied away from. The he put his foot to the gas and drove them back to headquarters.  
"Well... Van should be pleased at how this went... right?" Fox asked, once they got back. They all climbed out of the car and Long locked it up.   
"Yes, he should." Alica agreed. Fox headed for the stairs and Alica started to follow.  
"I want to talk with you, Alica." #318 called. Something in the tone of his voice told her that he still suspected something. _Damn me, can't even hide my own guilt._ She stood where she was and waited, listening to his soft footfalls as he walked up behind her. "Care to come up to my dorm for a moment? Perhaps for a cup of tea and a little chat."  
"Isn't it usually coffe?" she mumbled nervously.  
"I'm not asking you for sex, Alica." he replied, grunting in complete disgust at the sugestion. "And I don't drink much coffe either, although I do have some if you like it."  
"I..." _Still, the way he asked me, it wasn't really a question, it was a command._ "I guess I could."  
"Follow me." he ordered, walking towards the stairs. She did as she was told, knowing she was powerless to do otherwise. She followed him all the way up the stairs and into his room, noticing that he shut and locked the door behind them. She could feel her throat tightening in fear. "Have a seat, Alica." She sat down on the couch.  
"Why... do you k-keep saying my name like that?" He turned his back to the door and walked over to her, his critical gaze seemed to bore into her mind.  
"You lied to me Alica. I want to know why."  
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Alica, I don't play this kind of game. Now either you tell me what you've done, or I may be forced to become a bit... unpleasant."  
"Wha... What are you going to do?" He walked up to her and rested his hands on the back of the couch on either side of her. Then he bent down to look her in the face, his eyes staring into hers. She was unable to look away.  
"Alica, simply tell me the truth, and nothing will happen."  
"I...uh..." he pullled in even closer, untill his nose brushed against hers and she could feel his breath on her lips. "I... d-didn't kill one of them." He pulled back and scowled at her.  
"Just as I had suspected. Why, Alica?"  
"I... c-couldn't..." she gulped nervously, nevertheless glad he wasn't in her face anymore. He stood up and looked down on her with utmost disaproval. "I... my conscience is killing me! You must know how that feels!"  
"Do you have any idea what you are risking!?!" he scolded. "Van will do something terrible to you when he finds out... and then he will punish me as well. Will he kill one of my family members over this? Perhaps my little sister... _you_ tell _me_ Alica!"  
"No! I made it look as though I killed them all! Long, no one will be able to tell the difference! If you don't tell Van no one will ever know! You won't tell him, will you?"  
"Do you have any idea what he would do to me if he found out about this!?!" Singh Long yelled.  
"P-please!" she cried, warpping her arms around his waist. "Don't! Think of what he'll do to me!" He scoffed at her whining and stared down at her blankly.  
"You think Van won't know the difference?"  
"He'll never find out, I covered up for it that well, I swear!"  
"Hmpf... We shall see." he started walking, breaking from her grasp. Her face fell straight to the ground as he sat down in his recliner. She picked herself off the ground and sat back down on the couch while he fished through his pockets. "Damnit!" he came up empty-handed again. "Why did I ever listen to you? I need a cigarette now."  
"So... you're not going to...?"  
"Shut up. I don't want to talk to you right now." he walked into his kitchen and she listened to the clinking of cups as he prepared something.   
"But... Long."  
"An jin!*"   
_Hm... now he's yelling at me in Chinese, guess I'd better be quiet. _She sat silently on the couch for several minutes while he shuffled around in the kitchen. She listened to the hum of a microwave as he turned it on, waited a few minutes, and then removed something from it again. She heard the metallic sound of a spoon as it stirred whatever was in the cups. She waited untill he re-appeared, setting a cup on a coaster in front of her on the coffe table and sat back dowon in his recliner with his cup.  
"Thank you." she picked the cup up off of the table and blew on it gently, then took a sip. The tea was a little bitter for her liking, but she decided not to bother him about it. He relaxed in his chair and took small sips of the tea, savoring the bittersweet taste in his mouth. He sat there, silently thinking untill he finished it.   
"I should be telling Van about this right now." #318 complained. "I must be going soft."  
"You know, caring about other people isn't a weakness." Alica argued.  
"Yes it is. How do you think I got here?"  
"I don't know, how did you get here?" He glared at her for a moment, and then decided it was an honest question and not just a smart retort.  
"My father works for Tylon. He's worked for them much longer than I have, maybe as long as I've been alive."  
"Oh, so he's the reson Tylon got it's hands on you."  
"He trained me to kill from a very young age, and then when I was ready he handed me over to them. All my life he was preparing me for this job."  
"What!?! That's horrible!"  
"You can understand why I would want to kill him now, can't you?"  
"Yes, I guess I do... so... your father is also an assassin?"  
"Hardly. He is a mere lab assisstant."  
"But... is he a Zoanthrope?"  
"Yes."  
"And you were born a Zoanthrope."  
"Yes, I was."  
"So was I."  
"Your father wasn't a Zoanthrope, was he?" Long wondered. "Was it your mother?"  
"It was my mother." she admitted. "I don't even think my father knew about it, and he certainly wasn't one himself."  
"I had suspected as much." #318 commented, getting up from his chair and walking into the kitchen to pour himself some more tea. "Need anything while I'm up?"  
"No, I'm fine." she answered, despite still feeling a little bit shaken. "Long... what would you have done to me if I didn't talk?"  
"Hm..." he ignored her question for a moment, untill he was done pouring the tea. He considered it as he walked back into the room, and then sat down on the couch beside her. "I scared you didn't I? Good. I had intended to do so. It is nice to know I haven't lost my touch."  
"Would you please answer my question?" Alica asked, growling a bit. She was beginning to get frustrated with him.  
"I'm not sure..." he replied, taking a slow sip of his tea. "I didn't really have anything planned."  
"Why did you stare into my eyes like that?"  
"So there was no place for you to hide. People don't like to lie while you're looking into their eyes, it gives them away."  
"Do you think you could lie with someone looking into your eyes?"  
"Perhaps. It really depends on what questions they were asking." she nodded, accepting the answer.   
"So what do you think you would've done to me?"   
"Hmmm..." he stared blankly at the wall for a moment, absently dipping one finger into his cup of tea and stirring it. "I think I might have grabbed one of your hands, taken a finger, and bent it backwards... ever so slowly, untill the pain became unbearable... or I might have manipulated a painful pressure point or two. Why do you ask anyway? It is over now."  
"I... had the strangest fear that you were going to bite me." she replied. "As close as your face was to mine. And I was afraid... you would......... you know."  
"Alica, I don't know." he protested. "And I'm certain I don't want to either, especially if it's something sexual in nature."  
"See, you knew."  
"I don't know why everyone presumes that simply because I'm perverse enough to commit mass murder I'm a rapist as well."  
"Most of the other assassins are." she informed him. "Or so I've heard."  
"And that is why you fear it?" he assumed. "I'm a virgin actually."  
"What!?!" she asked, her mouth agape.  
"Does that shock you? It shoudn't really... Considering how completely anti-social I can be it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Why does everyone expect this of me?"   
"I don't know." she shrugged. "I guess virginity seems pure to most people, and you seem to be covered in the filth of your deeds."  
"So... as if being a merciless killer isn't enough I'm supposed to !#$@ as well? How stereotypical." Alica shrugged and Singh Long continued. "I have never known that kind of lust. I have never known any kind of lust." he explained. "I am an emotionless servant of Tylon, the hands that carry out their most destructive desires. I am driven by need, not desire. I kill because it is necessary for me to kill. I care for nothing, feel for nothing, lust for nothing. I simply exist to accomplish my work."   
"You care for nothing?" Alica was perplexed. "Not even your family?"  
"My one weakness." he admitted, glancing briefly into her eyes. "Correction, my first weakness. The second is you."  
"Me?" she didn't know whether to be flattered or offended.   
"You mean something to me..." he admitted, albeit reluctantly. He stared into her face, trying to figure out why. "although, I'm not sure exactly what. You are a good friend I think, but I don't usually keep friends."  
"I... guess I should be flattered."  
"Hardly."  
  
*Quiet! 


	6. Van is Watching

**Van is Watching** He took another slow sip of his tea and sighed contentedly as the warm fluid washed down his throat. She thought about protesting his previous remark, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. She shifted around in her seat and her upper arm briefly brushed against his, reminding her of his presence. She turned to look at him, watching his face as he gazed off into nothing. _Why did he sit down so close to me on this couch anyway? _she wondered. _Why isn't he in his recliner? _She realized that somewhere deep inside of her self she was attracted to him in the most sinfull kind of way, yet she was still afraid. She couldn't explain it.  
A black aura that whispered of pain, death, and alienation seemed to emanate from the very center of his being. Now one who even as much as stood around him could escape it's effects as it seeped undetectibly into their minds and infected them like some vile disease. She imagined that he killed his victims with the same icy disreguard that he used to repel most people from his presence. It was this strange feeling that attracted her, for reasons beyond her own understanding. She felt his good looks made him sensual and seductive in his own dark and tortured way. Yet at the same time he remained a chaste virgin, and emotionless as the dead. It scared her in a sense, she didn't understand it.  
"Why are you still sitting next to me?" Alica wondered, muttering it out loud without even realizing it.  
"I was trying to be friendly." #318 answered, glancing over at her. "Am I scaring you again Alica? I freely admit that personal intimacy is not one of my strong points."   
_Personal Intimacy?_ she thought. The words brought a slight blush to her cheeks. He noticed it and chuckled.   
"Don't take it for more than what it's worth." he cautioned. Then he got up and walked back over to lounge in his recliner. "There... are you comfortable now?" She didn't know what kind of answer she could give him. At once she felt both relieved and dissapointed.  
"I... uh... I'm fine."  
"I'm really going to have to stop scaring you." he resolved, chuckling to himself again. "You ought not to fear me, wo de qin. I am certainly no threat to you."  
"Is that so?" she wondered, realizing that he was probably calling her 'my dear' again, or some other such phrase in Chinese. "I don't know if I can trust you after-"  
"Well it seems I certainly can't trust you." he interrupted.  
"What?"  
"I did give you a job to do, remember? I trusted you to get it done."  
"Oh, that... I'm really sorry. I just couldn't..."  
"No apologies, and no excuses." he stated. "Three things."  
"What?"  
"One, _never_ do that again. Not while you're working under me. Do we have an understanding on this?"  
"Yes." she nodded solemnly, confirming her answer.  
"Two, if you ever do anything like that again while you're not working under me, don't tell me about it. I don't want to know. The less I know the less suspicious I'll look if Van ever questions me about it."  
"Alright."  
"Three, I have no sexual interest in you whatsoever."  
"Oh..."   
"Alica? Now you are confusing me, you look almost... dissapointed."  
"I... I'm not sure how I feel about you."  
"Hm..." Singh Long took another sip of he tea and studied her for a minute. "You are attracted to me. At first I didn't dare to believe anyone could be attracted to me, although I realized you were acting strangely... However, I think you would do better to be attracted to a house plant for all the love and attention you'd get out of me."  
"What are you saying exactly?"  
"I..." He looked down at his cup of tea and took the last sip before answering. "I know nothing about relationships..." He stared absently at the floor for a moment.   
"You're nervous?" It was true, but she could hardly believe it.   
"Well..." he looked up at the wall to his side, anywhere but into her face. "I do feel... attracted to you. I'm not sure exactly what kind of attraction it is. I thought it was platonic, but now... I'm not sure."  
"Oh..." She glanced down at her unfinished tea, which was probably starting to get cold. He got up and poured himself another hot cup, then leaned back in his recliner and took slow sips of it. "What is your obsession with tea?" she wondered.  
"It calms me, steadies my nerves." he explained, taking another sip. "Plus it smells much better than cigarette smoke, don't you think?"  
"You did quit smoking for me, didn't you?"  
"Among other reasons. I wasn't lying when I said I never cared for it."  
"I think you're afraid to like me." Alica boldly accused. He studied her face for a minute, mulling over the matter inside his head.  
"I think you're right." Long admitted. He shrugged and then regained his compsure. "I was never taught how to act around women... I suppose I am nervous, yes. And maybe afraid to get close to anyone. Well... that's just the way I am." He took the last sip of his tea and then leaned over to set the empty cup on the coffe table before leaning back in his chair.   
"So... what do you want to do?"  
"_Do_?" he asked nervously. "I don't want to _do_ anything just yet... but... you didn't mean..." he groaned and smacked himself across the forehead. "Ai ya! Wo zhen de shi yi ge ben dan!*"  
"What was that?"  
"Uh... forgive me... I had misinterpreted what you were suggesting."  
"Oh..." Alica shrugged. "Well, at least I'm not the only person who's paranoid about sex."  
"Ai." Long agreed, embarassed by his own fear.  
"So... you know why I'm paranoid about it... what about you?"  
"I suppose because I don't understand it, and because I am afraid to get close to anyone in any way at all... And because of people like Hans who really, _really_, scare me."  
"I guess that's a good enough reason." she replied, snickering at the refrence to Fox.  
"Speaking of which... don't you think it's odd that he seemed to notice we were attracted to each other before we realized it ourselves?"  
"That is kind of disturbing..." she agreed. "Well, as much as I hate to think about this, I'm sure Hans has more experinece in relationships than we do."  
"I'll thank you not to mention that again. I really don't even want to think about what kind of 'experience' Fox has had with reltaionships either." She giggled at the thought and he smiled at her for a moment, before becoming nervous and glancing up at a clock on the wall. "Hm... it's getting late." he cautioned. "You probably ought to be going home. I am getting tired... it's been a long day."  
"Oh..." Alica checked the time, and realized that she was getting tired too. "Yes, I should probably go to bed." She got up from the couch, and he got off his recliner to walk her to the door. He got to the door first and held it open as she left.   
"Good night Alica."  
"Good night Long."  
After walking through the door she turned back to look at him and was surprised to find him right behind her, so close that if she were a bit taller their noses would have touched. There was an akward moment, and then she closed her eyes and leaned towards him just a little. He stared at her in embarament for a moment. Then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her body close to him, brushing her cheek with his own. _That's not what I expected... _Alica thought, _but, alright..._ She spent a few moments wrapped in his warmth. She enjoyed the slow, calm movement of his chest as it rose and fell with each breath, and the feel of his soft skin against her cheek. He finally losened his grasp and stepped back to address her, brushing his bangs out of his face nervously.  
"I'll probably see you tomorow then, Alica."  
"Of course... tomorrow, Long." she felt a bit foolish and weak, almost as if she would swoon. She looked at him for a minute, and then turned and walked towards her room. He stood and watched her as she went, too dazed to look back at him. She unlocked her door and vanished into her room.   
"So, Long? Is that your name?"   
"Huh?" he head snapped around to the other side. "Oh, Van. You startled me."  
"Have I really? And you're not a particularly jumpy person are you?"  
"Not usually..." he glanced back down the other side of the hallway at Alica's door. "Women." he shrugged.  
"So... you are attracted to Alica?"  
"Yes... I-I think so..." he was still staring at her door, wondering at what had just happened. "I really don't know if... I want to..."  
"A bit of advice."  
"Yes?"  
"Keep your relationship with her on the platonic side."  
"Oh?" he looked back at Van, wondering why he would say something like that.  
"It's bad for business, you understand? And we certainly wouldn't want anything to ruin this lovely business arrangement we have here, now would we?"  
"Certainly not." #318 agreed, becoming suspicious of why Van would insist he didn't get any closer to Alica.  
"Good..." Van smiled, certain the assassin would follow his advice. "Well, I'm also on the way up to my quarters for the night." he started walking down the hallway towards the elevator. "If I don't hear about your mission in the papers or on the news tomorrow morning then I shall expect a full report when I see you in my office." He entered the elevator and long watched untill the doors closed and he was out of sight.  
"I wonder how long he was standing there." he mumbled to himself. _Did he see the everything that happened? I thought I was his best assassin, so why would he object to me being with Alica?_ He considered it for a moment. _True, it might be bad for business... but then again if we were closer it might also be good for business... Still, I am an employee of Tylon, and she is a Tylon, half-blood or not. Would it be socially unacceptable for her to be with the hired help? Hmpf... I don't believe that's the only reason Van would keep me away from her. There's something suspicious about this. One day I'm going to find out what it is. But untill then... I'd better do as he says._  
  
When Alica got up that morning Long was the first thing she thought about. She remembered what had happened the night before, and wondered for the dozenth time why he hadn't kissed her. _Am I being pushy about this?_ she wondered. _Maybe I'm expecting too much._ She breathed a heavy sigh, climbed out of her bed and stretched. _Afterall I've only known him for, what? A couple days? And he's definately not the type to rush into relationships... _She snickered. _How strange, he is even more afraid of this than me._ She threw her pajamas off and took a shower, barely having the time to towel herself dry before she heard a knock at her door.  
For a moment she wondered who it could be, and then she was reminded that Van was usually the only person who would bother her this early in the morning. She frowned just thinking about him. _What can he want? Wait... maybe..._ She felt a hardening in her throat as she realized that the only good reason for Van being at her door this early in the morning was if he had discovered what she had done the night before. She grabbed her bathrobe and wraped it around her waist, tying it tight. She thought about running away, but there was no where to run to, and if she was wrong about Van then her guilty conscience would make her look suspicious. She swallowed her fears, walked to the door, and cautiously pulled it open.  
"Good morning Alica."  
"Oh, Long!" she sighed in relief. "Thank God it's only you! I was so afraid that Van would be standing there. He's usually the only person who bothers me this early in the morning... untill now. Do you want something?"  
"I... uh..." He looked to one side of the hallway, and then the other. Is he checking to make sure Van isn't coming? Finally he gazed at the ground, trying to avoid looking her. "Well... I had intended to speak with you. However, you seem to be a bit..." he cleared his throat and brushed through his bangs nervously. "...indisposed at the moment."  
"Oh!" she realized she was still standing around in nothing but her bathrobe, and although it covered her well enough the vulnerability still bothered her. She jumped up in surprise and hid behind the door. "Yeah, I'll see you later in the assassin room..." She started to close the door, but he slipped his hand inside the doorway.  
"If you don't mind I would like to talk to you privately before we meet in the assassin room." he explained. "If you would be so kind as to knock on my door once you're dressed I would appreciate it."  
"Alright..." she agreed, peeking at his face curiously from behind the door and wondering what he wanted to talk about. He nodded to her politely and then turned and walked back towards his room, without so much as glancing at her. She shrugged and closed the door. _He can act so strangely at times, I wonder what's bothering him?_ She walked back into her room, shed her robe, put her glasses on and dressed herself in her Tylon uniform. Then she went into the bathroom and brushed her hair before putting it back into a low ponytail like usual. Finally satisfied with herself, she left her room, locked it up and walked over to knock on Long's door.   
He opened it immediately, nodded to her politely and motioned her in, closing the door tightly behind them. He couldn't put his finger on the reason, but somehow he felt uneasy about even having her present in his room. He had an uncanny fear that Van would walk in on them any minute and be angry, thinking it was inappropriate even though they weren't doing a thing. Alica took a seat on the couch and he strolled over to the recliner, when he sat down he leaned over, resting an elbow on one leg and holding his chin in one hand in a thoughtfull manner.  
"What do you want Long? We have got to go soon..."  
"I think that if we had a romantic relationship it would be bad for business."  
"What!?! Where did this come from?" She looked over at his face as he stared at her, still deep in thought. "I think I know... you're still afraid to get close to me, aren't you? You don't have to be."  
"That's not it." he shook his head.   
"Huh? What is it then? You do feel the same way about me as I do about you... don't you?" he stared at her.  
"I still don't know... Anyway, don't you know that it's innapropriate to associate with your employees in such a manner?"  
"What? I can't believe you! This can't be what's keeping you away from me!" He groaned and got up from his seat, walking towards the front door. "Hey! Where are you going!"  
"It's about time to meet in the assassin room, dawlde around here any longer and we'll be late." She rose from the couch, her lips pursed in anger.   
_I can't understand it! I went out of my way to be nice to him and yet he insists on not only staying away from me, but treating me rudely as well._ She glared at his back as she walked over to him and he opened the door for her. _Or... maybe I was wrong. Maybe he doesn't feel the same way about me. But even that wouldn't explain why he's being this rude. Is he grouchy? Or is he always like this? _She walked out the door and he followed her, locking it behind him. _I know he doesn't usually get along very well with people... but I still think he's going out of his way to get me to keep my distance._ She stood in one spot and he walked past her towards the elevator.  
"Are you giving me the cold shoulder?" she demanded.  
"Perhaps..." he replied as he continued walking. She started walking after him "You obviously didn't want to listen to my reasoning, so why waste my breath?"  
"What have I done to you to deserve this treatment?" he stopped at the elevator and pushed a button, then glanced absently at the wall.  
"Nothing."  
"Exactly my point. So why don't you lighten up?"  
"Alica."  
"Yes?"  
"I do like you, but I think it would be better for both of us if we kept this platonic. It's less complicated that way."   
"Oh?" They stood and watched the numbers above the elevator light up as it moved down the floors towards them. Alica wanted to protest what he had said, but couldn't find the words to do it. They could hear the whir of the elevator's engine as it neared them, and a soft dinging sound as it reached their floor. The doors slid open and there stood Van. _Oh shit! _Long thought. _He has a terrible habbit of popping up right when he's least expected... I'm terribly unprepared for this. _He glanced at Alica. _This must look bad to him... very bad. _  
"Good morning you two." he greeted, raising an eyebrow and wondering why they were standing there together.  
"Good morning Van." Singh Long replied, trying to stay cool although he realized that he must be visibly tensing.   
"Morning." Alica mumbled, walking into the elevator away from Van and noticing the strange looks exchanged between the two. Long reluctantly walked into the elevator, having no choice but to stand between Van and Alica. The doors stood open for one moment of uncomfortable silence, and then the doors slid shut and the elevator began running again as they headed down to the first floor.   
"So... what have you two been up to this morning?" Van asked, nonchalantly. Alica was used to this facade however, and she recognized a probing question when she heard it.  
"Up to?" she asked.  
"Nothing." #318 stated.  
"We just had a little talk." she admitted, frowning at Long and wondering why he hadn't told her what Van was up to. Van smiled, which confused her even more. A part of her wanted to cry out, _What is going on here!?!_ But she knew better than do make such an ouburst in front of Van, and restrained herself.  
"Hm... is that all?" Van wondered out loud.   
"No." Alica answered sarcastically. "First we went out for breakfast this morning, killed a few people, and then cooked their rotting, dead, flesh and served it to the restaurant's customers." Long and Van both stared her as though she were insane and an evil sounding laugh escaped her lips.  
"Alica..." #318 began.  
"...are you feeling alright?" Van finished. Then she stared back at them as if they were insane. _Van and Long finishing each other's sentences? Even in this situation... My God that is scary!_  
"Another moment of being cooped up in here with you two and your false pretenses and veiled threats... and I'm going to go insane." The elevator stopped moving and a soft ding sounded as the doors opened up on their floor.   
  
"Wouldn't they just make the perfect couple?" Fox argued. "They're both wickedly stylish, have deep, maniacal laughes, and are lovely in such a bishounen way!"  
"If you say one more thing about Long and my brother I'm going to throw up all over you!" Alica threatened.   
"Ew... Ooo! I know! I'll make up a single name for them as a couple!" he stopped and thought about it for a moment. "I know, Vang! Oooo, it sounds so sexy!"  
"Ugh..." she groaned, holding her stomach and really starting to feel sick. She hated it when Fox talked about them together, the mere thought of it icked her out. It especially bothered her since he was right about one thing: at times, they did act very much alike, so much that it was disturbing. She tried to console herself with the fact that they looked very different. Long was a bit taller, more muscular, and over all a much more thicker and imposing figure. Van was thin and tall, but not to the point of frailty, he had some slight muscle tone. However, Van made up for his difference in stature by exerting an aura of power so commanding that no one ever dared question his authority.  
She sighed and glanced at the empty recliner, wondering what they were talking about at the moment. Were they discussing business as usual? Reporting on last night's work, or maybe considering the next mission? Or were they discussing something entirely different? After that episode in the elevator earlier that morning she knew something was going on between the two, but what? _Hopefully not what I did last night, _she thought, nervously. _And hopefully not what Fox is suggesting either._  
"Vang." Hans continued. "Van and Long, the two deadly sexy, powerfully provocative leaders of Tylon."   
"Hans," Alica growled. "if you don't stop it I swear to God I'm going to bug this room and play the tapes to Van!" Fox's eyes widened in fear.  
"Y-you wouldn't!"  
"Shut up!"  
"Good idea Alica." Greg agreed. "Maybe now he'll be quiet."  
"What about me?" Bakuryu growled. "I was once the most feared assassin in the employ of Tylon! I was the best of the best! The top of the..."   
"Now if only we could find a way to shut him up too." Greg interrupted. Fox raised the hand he held his brush in and aimed at the old man's head.  
  
On Van's orders Singh Long followed him directly into his office while Alica went out to sit in the waiting room. _The assassin room,_ #318 thought. _An appropriate name, although personally I think a title like, 'the freak room' would suit it better._ Van sat down behind his desk, Long in front of it. Van reclined idlly in his seat for a moment, seemingly considering something. Then he sat up straight, glancing at the other and commanding his attention. Long noticed and did as was requested, facing Van bravely even though he knew he was in for some kind of lecture.  
"Listen up, Long."  
"I'd prefer #318 if you don't mind."  
"_Long_." Van continued, purposely emphasizing the word as well as the fact that no one told him what he could and couldn't call someone. "As you can see, my half-sister is very dear to me. She is beautiful, talented, _important_... That is why she doesn't need to be messing around with every other upstart assassin seeking to make a name for themselves with Tylon."  
"That is hardly-"  
"I was not finished."  
"My sincerest apologies."  
"Continue to consort with Alica, touch her in any way whatsoever, so much as look at her in a manner I consider inappropriate... And I will not only have you 'taken care of' but your entire family as well." As he finished the sentence the room slipped into silence, the tension between them so thick it could be sensed, louder than any noise. "Do we have an understanding on this matter?" Van broke the silence.  
"You could not have made yourself clearer if you had typed it out in black and white." he replied solemnly. "You express your intentions so succinctly I would say it was on the brink of perfection." Van nodded absently at the comment and stared into the assassin's eyes, probing into his most secret thoughts. He could tell that Long was not falsely flattering him, like so many people did. He not only meant what he said, but also meant to remain obedient to Van's orders.  
"And as for Alica?"  
"She will never be anything more than a friend to me... Unless it would please you if I avoided her completely."  
"That would be impossible." Van disagreed. "I don't intend to lose either of my best assassins over this. Simply keep your distance from her emotionally. Treat her as you would any other member of your little group of assassins." "If that is your command it shall be carried out to the utmost of my abilities." Van smiled, considering himself fortunate to have employed such an obedient and skilled man.   
"Very good." he complimented. "I like your style."   
  
*My God! I feel like such an idiot! 


	7. Long is Crushed

**Long is Crushed** Singh Long exited Van's office as gracefully as he was able, trying to go over the plans for the next night's killing in his head. He was distracted. _Van wants something with Alica, he has plans for her, that much is obvious now. But what could he posibly be planning? _He stared off into space as he walked down the hall, trying to think of a reason. _He is certainly over-protective, which I expected, but his excessive concern for her exceeds my expectations by far. _All of a sudden he remembered something Fox had said before, _"What if Van wanted Alica? He does always seem to be keeping an eye on her..."_. The words came back to haunt him and he cringed as the thought entered his mind.  
_That is ridiculous! Van wouldn't go after his own blood... would he?_ He hated to admit to himself that for some strange reason Fox's insane suggestion could be right, afterall he had been right about him and Alica. _But that's insane! What about his insistant remarks about me and Van? That is certainly off... right? He can be wrong... of course he is wrong! What am I thinking? _He walked into the assassin room just in time to get beaned in the head with a brush aimed for Bakuryu. He grabbed it as it glanced off his shoulder and then threw it back at Hans and pegged him straight in the nose.  
"Ah!" Fox cried, protectively covering his dainty litte nose and letting the brush fall to the floor. "I wasn't even aiming for you!"  
"You hit me, didn't you?" #318 growled, "And you expect me not to retaliate?"  
"You all show such disrespect!" Bakuryu complained. Long shook his head in annoyance and sat down in his recliner. Vark entered the room behind him and beckoned Alica wordlessly. She got up from the couch and left the room. "I had a better reputation than any of you will ever have!" the old man continued. "I was the top assassin, the most skilled Master of Ninjitsu in all the world, Master Bakuryu!" Fox picked the brush up from the floor and this time hit his mark. "OW!"  
"Now shut up!" Hans whined, retrieving his brush while the old ninja rubbed his sore head.   
"We all know what you were old man." Greg admitted. "But that's all over, you're living in the past. Right now you're no better than a mediocre assassin."  
"T-that's not true!" he denied.  
"It is so." Fox argued. "You're yesterday's news old man. You're all washed up. You're a has-been, a wannabe even, a..."  
"And you are nothing more than a pathetic excuse of an assassin! Unable to control yourself at even the slightest sight of blood. It's no wonder Busuzima dumped you!"   
"_I_ dumped _him_!" Fox corrected, sniffling. "H-he kept hitting on other people, good looking men and women. He acted so perverse around them... and then he treated me like I didn't even exist! And then you know what happened? I found him with a woman last night! Can you imagine? He cheated on me with a _woman_! Wahahaha!" Hans collapsed over his vanity, burying his head in his hands and sobbing and wailing pathetically. The rest of the room watched in silent shock.  
"Weakling." Bakuryu tormented.  
"Consorting with someone of your own intelligence level I see... _Baka_ryu." Long teased.  
"What!?! What did you just call me!?!"  
"Would you like me to repeat myself, _Baka_ryu?"  
"How dare you! Y-you dare to insult the anchient name of the Master Ninja!"  
"Anchient is right..."   
"GRRR..." the old man got so mad that his wrinkled face went red, all the way up over his bald head. Meanwhile Alica re-entered the room and Fox stopped crying, his sobbs dying down to a sniffle as he looked over at assassin #318.   
"318... I do believe you were... sticking up for me?" Hans asked.  
"I was simply having a litle fun at 'Master Nincompoop's expense." Long explained. Bakuryu growled at the refrence and Fox burst into laughter along with Greg and Alica.  
"But -ha, ha- you had fun at his expense -he, he- instead of mine?"  
"Well..." he growled in annoyance. "I was a bit harsh on you the other night."  
"Oh, how sweet!" Fox cried, jumping from his seat and falling onto Long, wrapping his arms around him in a hug.  
"GET OFF ME!!!" #318 screamed, frantically trying to pry the mans arms off from where they were wrapped around his chest. Finally he suceeded, and then kicked Fox so hard he flew to the other side of the room and landed on the couch next to Bakuryu. Hans smiled up at Long dreamilly.  
"Oo... I like them rough."  
"AHHHH!!!" Long screamed, jumping up from his couch and running out the door.  
"Hey, Long! Wait!" Alica called, running after him. They ran down the hallway and up to the elevator. #318 pressed the button frantically, but then realized that the elevator was several floors away and decided to take the stairs. Alica grabbed his arm and got dragged along, all the way up untill he reached the door to his room. He fished the keys out of one pocket and fumbled around with them nervously.  
"Are you alright?"  
"He... _touched_ me!" Long whined, finally finding the right key and unlocking the door.   
"The way you say it sounds worse than it really was, it was just a hug." He ran through the front room, through his bedroom, and straight into his bathroom, leaving the doors hanging open behind him.  
"But then he... he was hitting on me again! Didn't you hear what he said!?!" She walked into the front room and sat down on the couch, unable to see him although she could hear his voice well enough.  
"I don't know what you're so afraid of, it's not like he's going to rape you or anything."  
"Ahhh! Don't even mention that word, please! I hate him! I should've killed him when I had the chance!"  
"But if you did Van would've killed your family."   
"I don't care! Well... maybe I do... but, he _touched_ me!"  
"Stop being so immature... what are you doing in there anyway?"  
"I'm going to take a shower! A nice cold one!"  
"Shouldn't you close the door then?"  
"Oh..." She hears the hinge of the bathroom door creak a little. "Alica, are you going to stay there?"  
"Maybe, I've got nothing better to do than torment you. Sure, why not?"  
"I would feel uncomfortable showering with you in my dorm."  
"All the more reason for me to stay."  
"Alica, please..."  
"Oh, so _now_ you're going to try and be courteous towards me, hm? If you want me gone so badly why don't you come kick me out?"  
"I'm already undressed... please leave."  
"I think I'll just hang out here on the couch for a moment, why don't you go take your shower?"  
"Alica!"  
"What!?! What are you so afraid of? I'm not going to sneak in and peek at you... although I admit it's a tempting thought." He screamed and the door slammed shut, she couldn't help but laugh as she walked into his bedroom and over to the door. "Are you alright? Did you trip on something in there?"  
"Your words are the only thing I'm tripping on right now."  
"I didn't mean it."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Look, all I want is to know what's going on between you and Van, and why you were acting so strangely towards me this morning."  
"I promise I'll tell you when I'm done, just please leave!"   
"What do you care if I just sit on the couch? I'll turn the TV on or something, I won't peek on you, I promise!"  
"But what if Van comes by!?!"  
"What if he does? Is there a problem?"  
"I'll tell you about it later, just please, go away!"  
"Alright." Alica reluctantly agreed, realizing that if was the only way she'd get anything out of him. She walked back out of his bedroom and the front room into the hallway and slammed the last door before walking back towards hers. Strangely, the door of the dorm right next to it was open. This was unusual because no one used that dorm, it was usually empty. She glanced through the doorway as she passed, and saw a man in a lab coat bending over an open suitcase. "You new here?" she asked. He got up, turned and walked towards her, and then offered his hand.  
"Yes, I'm Dr. Goldberg." he said, noticing her uniform. "And you're a Tylon, are you the boss around here?"  
"Hardly." she answered, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. "That would be my brother Van. If you didn't even know that then you _must_ be new."  
"To this building anyway." he admitted. "I was moved here to do some reasearch work for an old colleague... Hajime Busuzima, maybe you know him?"  
"Ugh... well, I know of him anyway. I haven't really worked with him."  
"And what sort of work do you do? Are you some kind of assisstant manager, a supervisor perhaps?"  
"No, I'm a scientist." she thought about mentioning her other job as well, but decided againt it.  
"Oh, really? Perhaps we'll have some work together then."  
"It's a possibility."  
  
Long stepped into the shower and turned on the water, shivering as the cool droplets sprayed on to his bare skin. He grabbed the knob and turned it, waiting patiently for the water to heat up. _Why did this have to happen to me?_ he wondered. _First Hans and then... I can't believe Alica said that._ He shook his head, trying to forget the incident. _Even if Van wasn't threatening to kill me if I don't keep away from her that would've scared me away._ The water finally heated up a bit, and he closed his eyes and leaned into the stream a little too far, hitting on the tiled wall with his forehead.   
"Ouch!" he stood back up and rubed his head, realizing that it hat been aching dully all morning. He had simply ignored it earlier, but it was a little more painfull now. _Oh great! This is just what I need! Now I know it's just going to get worse... _He turned the heat up a little more than usual, hoping that the burning sensation of the hot water on his skin would distract him from the growing pain in his head. He grabbed the shampoo and worked it gently through his hair, massaging his scalp as he went, but it didn't help. Finally he rinsed it out under the hot water. He started to feel a bit light headed, but ignored the feeling while washing the rest of his body. Finally he worked the conditioner through his hair, his head started pounding with pain. _This isn't helping,_ he realized grimly.   
He grabbed his hair and pulled it over his shoulder, and then turned his back to the spray for a moment, letting the hot water pour over his back and soothe his tense muscles. After a moment or two he let his hair back down and washed the conditioner out of it. As he leaned his head back to wash, he started feeling even more light headed and a little dizzy. _The water's too hot, I'm going to faint if I keep going like this,_ he warned himself. Black spots started appearing in the corners of his eyes. _Oh shit!_ He turned the water off and climbed out of the shower, grabbing a nearby towel and wrapping it around his waist. The spots got bigger. He ran out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, the cooler air helped a little. He took the towel off and spread it over the bed and then laid down, knowing that the blood would return to his head quicker this way.  
"I never should've turned it up so hot." he mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes and massages his temples, but it did nothing for his headache. Then he pressed his palms against the side of his head, putting a slight pressure on it. It seemed to help a little bit, but only for a moment. _Ugh... this is just great. I don't think I brought any pain relievers here, and I'd hate to go out anywhere feeling like this._ He let his arms drop to his sides and took a few deep breaths, and the light-headedness seemed to get better. He sighed, wishing that the pain in his head would also go away. Then he heard a distant knocking sound, probably coming from his front door.  
"Go away." he mumbled, too tired to raise his voice. _Of all the time to have company come by... _The knocking started again.  
"Long? Are you in there?" a faint female voice asked.  
"Oh, no. It's Alica, it just had to be Alica, didn't it? Of course... better her than Fox." He shrudered at the thought. Then he heard the door open a crack, which scared him since he remembered that he hadn't locked any of his doors.   
"Long? You in here?" Her voice was a little louder, she was in his front room. He heard her footsteps getting closer, he tried to get up but as soon as he sat up in his bed he started getting light-headed again.  
"Damnit, Alica! Don't come in!" he fell back down on the bed and pulled the blankets over him. He figured that if he couldn't prevent her from walking in on him naked then he'd rather be lying on his bed conscious then lying unconscious on the floor.   
"Hey, don't curse at me!" Her voice got closer, and then she walked into his room. "I was just coming in here too... Long!?! What _are_ you doing?"   
"Please, don't talk to me." he groaned, slapping his forehead and then massaging his temples again. "I just got out of the shower."  
"So why are you laying on your bed?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow suspiciously. "You weren't..."  
"Ugh... this day just gets worse and wose."   
"Well if you weren't jacking off then what were you doing?"  
"You thought I was..." he lifted his head up to stare at her in surprise and then fell back down to the pillow, his face turning red. "Uuuugh."  
"What _are_ you doing?" she insisted.  
"I turned the water up too hot! I started feeling faint! I wouldn't blacked out if I didn't lay down somewhere! Get the picture now?"  
"Oh..." she glanced over at the open bathroom door, noting the fogged-up mirror beyond and the steam rising out of the room. "You know Long, as much of an intellect as you are, that wasn't a very bright idea."  
"I only did it because I have this awful headache!" he moaned. "Please, leave me alone! This day has been terrible. I wish I could just fade out of existance. I need a nap!"  
"I don't know... I don't think I ought to leave untill you tell me what's been going on between you and Van."  
"Fine, but if I tell you will you go away?"  
"If you want me to."  
"What kind of reply is that?"  
"Just tell me what's going on!"  
"FINE!" They glared at each other for a moment. "Uh, I'm sorry Alica. It's not your fault I'm having a bad day. I shouldn't take it out on you. But, please be patient with me, okay? I know I was a real jerk earlier..."  
"Yes, you were. But, I'll give you a break if you just tell me what's going on."  
"It's really very simple, Van doesn't want me with you. He made his point abundantly clear by threatening to kill me and my entire family if I get too close to you."  
"What!?! Grrrr... that evil bastard! Ooo, I hate him!!! What does he care if I like somebody anyway!?! Is he doing this just to torture me!?! Wait a minute... so this is all his fault? He put you up to this? Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? You didn't have to pretend to be so cold and make up all that $#!@ about it being bad for business!"   
"I have _zero_ people skills." Long mumbled, raising one hand up with his fingers curled touching his thumb and curled into an 'O' shape. "Can you forgive an anti-social moron for acting like a complete idiot?"  
"I guess I could... but don't keep any secrets like that from me again, okay? We are friends at least, aren't we?"  
"I suppose I have no choice in the matter."  
"You have a choice." she argued. "you could act like an @$$ hole some more, piss me off, and make me hate you... Or you could just realize that the two of us work very well together and we ought to have some kind of relationship."  
"It would have to be a platonic one." he replied. "As much as I like you Alica I will not risk my family's lives... and I certainly have no desire to provoke Van's anger. He's scary enough when he's not angry." She sighed and nodded in agreement, angry that Van had the power to force other people's decisions like that. "Now, if you don't mind, would you please at least leave my room long enough so that I can get dressed?"  
"Oh, uh... of course." she repied sheepishly, stepping out into his main room and closing the door behind her. She could hear a dull thumping noise as he climbed out of his bed, and the sound of his drawers as he slid them out and reached for his clothes. She imagined him standing there naked and a wicked thought entered her head. She staired at the door handle, fighting back the impulse to open the door and peek at him. She heard the sound of cloth rubbing against skin as he started pulling on his clothes. "So... I met a new doctor today."  
"Oh, really." his voice mumbled through the door.  
"Yeah, he's staying in the room right next to mine. I invited him to lunch in the cafeteria, you wanna join in?"  
"I don't know..."   
"Come on, it's on me! It won't kill you to get out and meet a few people!"  
"I still have this horrible headache." he whined.  
"So what? I've got some pain relievers in my dorm. I'll pick them up on the way down to the cafeteria and you can take them with your drink."  
"You're not going to leave me alone untill I give in, are you?"  
"Nope."   
"Alright."   
  
As soon as they sat down at the table he popped the little white pills in his mouth, opened a bottle of water and washed them down his throat. _Can this get any worse?_ he wondered. _Threatened by Van, hugged by Fox, terrible headache, almost passed out while in the shower, walked in on while I'm at my worst, and then scolded by Alica. And now I'm sitting out here at a lunch and trying to befriend to a new person? This is more than I can take! _He set his elbow on the talbe and held his forehead in his hands, silently praying that the pills would work quickly and the pain would go away. He glared down at the sloppy-looking sandwitch in front of him and realized that he wasn't hungry at all, even though he hadn't eaten a thing that day.  
"Don't look so sour!" Alica answered. "He's just a doctor, not an assassin, you'll scare him away!"  
"I hate you." #318 mumbled under his breath. _What is worse? Listening to her scold me for another ocuple of hours or sitting here at the table? I guess I made the right choice._  
"Did you say something?"  
"I feel like $#!@."  
"The pills should work soon."  
"The headache is not the only thing bothering me."  
"Oh, quit your moaning and groaning. You sound like somebody just killed your mother."  
"Not yet, but they might..."  
"Long!"  
"I am not in a cheerful mood today. Why are you so interested in this guy anyway?"  
"Interested?" she asked, wondering what he meant. "Well, I might end up working with him, among other things."  
"Ugh... never mind."  
"What? Did I say something?"  
"Yes, you did. And with every single rising decibel of your voice my head splits father in twain."  
"Oh... sorry." They were both silent after that, Long poking idly at his sandwitch. Alica considered starting on her meal, but thought it would be rude if she didn't wait for her guest. Well, we are a bit early afterall. _I think that if I'd waitied any longer to get Long down here he wouldn't have come. But now that we're just sitting here, will he leave? _She looked over at him poking at his food, and looking miserable as ever. _I guess it wouldn't hurt me to be nice to him, afterall I'm sure it's been a hard day with all the threats being put on him._ "Aw, cheer up Long." she said, throwing a comforting arm around his shoulder. "I'm sure things can only get better."  
"What I wouldn't do for your optimism." he replied sarcastically. "Oh wait, never mind. I don't want it."  
"Don't you even start with that attitude." she warned. "Oh, look... He's coming."   
"I'm overcome with joy and happiness. Can't you just tell by the lighthearted smile on my face?"  
"Long..." she grumbled under her breath. "Cut it out." He sighed wearilly and then gazed ahead at the man approaching. There was nothing terribly notable about him, he wore a white lab coat, like most of the doctors did. He had hair that was somewhere between blond and light brown, and his facial features were pleasant enough to look at.  
"So, he moved in next door to you?"  
"Yes." she replied, waving at him to sit down. "I'm glad you could make it Dr. Goldberg. I want to introduce you to my friend Long here..." The doctor stuck out a hand in greeting and Long started up at him in shock.  
"Dr. Goldberg? Dr. _Stephen_ Goldberg?" Now it was the new man's turn to look confused.   
"How did you know-"  
"You know a man by the name of Lin-Lei." #318 interrupted.  
"Lin-Lei?" he thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean Mr. Shin? He's been working under me for years. Is he a friend of yours?" Singh Long burst into laughter, the whole cafeteria echoing with the eerie deep-throated sound.  
"Long, what's going on?" Alica demanded.  
"I'm sorry, my apologies to both of you." he replied, shaking his head. "I seem to have a perverse sense of humor this morning... Lin-Lei is my father."  
"Oh..." she muttered, a bit shocked. "Well, that explains it then."   
"I still don't understand how this is humerous." Dr. Goldberg complaied, rather taken aback by the other man's strange behavior.  
"I'll explain everything." Alica volunteered. "You see, Long here is Tylon's top assassin." A shocked look crept over the doctor's face.  
"Tylon keeps assassins? I had heard rumors before, but..."  
"Don't worry he's pretty harmless as long as you're not on his hit list and you don't piss him off." she explained. "Anyway, he's had a really awfull day today, and he hates his father."  
"Oh..." the doctor replied, still stunned. "I'm sorry to hear that. All of it. Really, it's terrible."  
"Pah, that isn't the half of it." Long mumbled, rising from the table. "Well, I've had just about enough of this, and your pills aren't doing $#!@ for me Alica. I'm going to go and get some rest."  
"Aw, come on Long, we just got here!"  
"Oh, #318!" A feminine voice called from across the room.  
"Oh no, Hans!" Long cried, ducking under the table. "Damn, too late, he saw me!"  
"Come'mere my little bishie man!" Fox called, walking towards them.  
"Ugh... Alica, HELP!"   
"I don't know what to do." she complained, shrugging uselessly.   
"What the...!?!" Dr. Goldberg trailed off upon seeing the scantilly clad transvestite walking towards them.  
"Now he's got a crush on me..." #318 whined. Then he jumped from behind the table and made a run for the door.   
"You can run, but you can't hide from love!" Fox cried, and turned to pursue. Alica and Dr. Goldberg stared after them as they ran from the room, hearing the pounding of their footfalls up the stairs.  
"Poor Long." Alica sighed. "I guess I should go rescue him. I wonder why he's running anyway, it seems so unlike him. I'd usually expect him to try and kill Fox... but then again if he did Van would kill one of his family members. Maybe he's running to avoid that."  
"If I were him, I'd run too." Dr. Goldberg agreed. 


	8. Note This:

Another author's note from me. You should feel privilaged, as I seldom take time out of my busy fanfic writting shedule to add these things. *^_^0* Just kidding!   
Anyway, in case you hadn't noticed there have been alot of new chapters lately... as well as a new review from Tiger every time I post one. (Thank you!) Uh... as I was saying... you want an explanation for this? *steps aside, behind her you see Alica Tylon laughing maniacally and cracking a whip* Well, there is your reason. A chapter a day keeps the whipping away... and hopefully a chapter every other day, or every couple days as well... I don't want big, ugly welts on my back!  
All joking aside, thanks you two. If no one else in the world cared about my fanfics then I would still continue to write them, just to hear your opinions. ^_^ **Note This:** Long ran all the way up the stairs and straight to him room. He quickly unlocked the door, darted inside, locked the door behind him, and then leaned back on it, panting heavilly. _Why me? _he asked himself, for what must have been the third or fourth time that day. He could hear the thud of footsteps racing up towards his door. _Go away Hans!_ he thought. _Just go away. _He waited breathlessly as the footsteps got closer, and then slowed at his door. Then listened to the knocking on the other side.  
"Oh my little bishounen!" Fox called, his feminine voice ringing with glee. "You know I love it when you play hard to get, but I won't wait for you forever."  
"If you don't leave, _Hans_, I will kill you. This is not a meaningless threat! I will grab your neck and choke you to death! Like I should have done the first time!"  
"Ooooo, I do love S and M! Shall I squeeze you neck too my little bishie? Or would you like me to bite it instead?" Long groaned, making a face. "Or maybe I could squeeze something else..."  
"AHHH! Y-you stay away from me!"  
"Alright Hans." Alica's voice ordered from the other side of the door. "That's enough. Shove off and leave Long alone!"  
"Hmpf! You're just jealous because he doesn't like you at all!" Fox retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.   
"You're fooling yourself Hans. At least he doesn't run away from me."  
"He's just playing hard to get!"  
"He is not, he hates you. Leave him in peace or he'll come out and kill you."  
"It's just a game deary, he plays like he wants to hurt me, but once he's got me in his grasp-"  
"You wanna see how much of a game it is, Hans!?!" Long threatened. He turned and broke down the door in his fury, smashing it out of the frame. He stood there and glared at Fox for a moment, his slanted eyes filled with hate, his face twisted in anger. Then bared his teeth and snarled a deep rumbling growl, just like the animal he could become. He took a few steps towards Hans and then crouched down, as if he would pounce on his hapless prey any moment. Fox stared at him in shock for a minute, got scared, and then backed away cautiously. Even he was smart enough to realize when Long was pissed.   
"Uh... m-maybe I was mistaken." he admitted. "Well in that case I guess I'd better be going... Toodles!" he ran off down the hall.  
"You are downright scary when you're mad." Alica commented, giving him a critical glance.  
"I _will_ kill him someday." #318 insisted.  
"What is your obsession with killing people?"  
"Well, he is an assassin after all." Dr. Goldberg added. Singh Long turned to look at him, having been unaware of his presence earlier.  
"Well so am I." Alica replied, without thinking about it first. "And you don't see me threatening to kill every single person that-"  
"You're an assassin too?" the doctor asked. "I thought you were a scientist?"  
"Uh... I'm both actually." she admitted.  
"Oh well, at least you didn't tell me an outright lie, although you did hold back a quite a bit."  
"Speaking of lies, _Singh_ Long, how come your father's name in Shin and yours is not?"  
"I don't like to be called by the same name he is called by, if you don't mind." #318 answered. "It is really just that simple." He stopped to rub his forehead again, the pain was beginning to fade, albeit very slightly. _At least those pills were good for something,_ he admitted. _Too bad they aren't more effective though. _He stared down at the gound for a moment, barely aware as the other two began talking again. The low rumble of their voices entered his mind, but he paid no attention to the words. His mind seemed to be in a haze. _I should lay down, I must be getting tired._ He turned around and stared at his broken down door. _Van won't like that... and neither do I. Wish I hadn't done that. Too late now though._ Alica caught him glancing down at his broken door.  
"You can have that fixed pretty easilly you know. That sort of thing happens around here all the time. All you need to do is pick up a door at any hardware store, and maybe a few screws, and what not... Oh, and another door knob and lock system of course. They're really not that hard to install."  
"I'm going to take a nap." he said shaking his head. "I'm out of it today, I'm not feeling up to working on the door. I'm not even up to staying awake. I hope I'm not coming down with something." He sulked through the doorway, towards his room.  
"I would hate to leave my room hanging open like that." the doctor said.   
"Me too..." Alica agreed.   
"With the type of people who live in this complex there's no knowing what might end up missing."  
"I'd like to see someone try to steal something from me." Long grumbled. "In the mood I'm in right now they'd be dead before they could blink." His point made, he walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. Alica wanted to warn him that if he killed anyone important Van might kill his family, but she didn't want to bother him and risk incurring his wrath.  
"Well, he's got a point." the doctor agreed.  
"Dr. Goldberg, if I went to go and get the things necessary to put a new door on there, would you help me put it up?" Alica asked.  
"Certainly, it's the least I can do. And please, call me Stephen."  
"Is there any way you could wait here and watch his room untill I get back."  
"I supposed I could... why do you want to do this for him anyway?"  
"He's the closest thing to a friend I have here, and I was a little harsh on him earlier. I think this will make up for it." Stephen nodded and posted himself by the doorway while Alica went off to the hardware store. He stood there in the same spot for a while, untill he got a bit uncomfortable and shifted around a bit. A single person walked by, paying him no attention untill he saw the busted door lying on the ground, a few smaller fragments scattered out into the hall. One small piece still clung to the frame, but most of the door laid on the floor in the middle of the doorway. The man stopped to wonder at it for only a moment and then kept on walking.   
Soon enough Stephen decided that there was no point in standing around outside of the place when he could simply go in and sit down on the couch, or maybe that comfortable looking recliner. _Afterall we are going to fix his door for him, so he shouldn't mind showing me a bit of hospitality, right?_ He wandered into the room, glancing about and noticing how barren it was. It was not much different from the rest of the building really. Clean to the point of sterility, but barren of anything that would even suggest any kind of personal touch. _Don't see how you could live in such a place._ He thought, sitting down on the recliner.  
He relaxed for awhile, keeping his eyes on the door. It wasn't hard to do since the chair was facing halfway towards the door in the first place. He waited and waited for what seemed like several hours. In that time only a few people walked by, most of them simply looked at the broken door for a moment and then moved on. It seemed as if broken down doors were indeed a common occurance at Tylon. Then he checked the clock and realized it hadn't been much more than one hour. _Hopefully Alica will be back soon,_ he thought, beginning to get bored.   
After another few minutes he heard some stirring from Long's room. A minute more and he heard the door open, and wondered if he ought to get out of the man's dorm. Long emerged from his room looking like a mess. His hair was messed up from all the tossing and turning he'd been doing, tangled in places and sticking up out of his ponytail. There were a few dark circles under his blood-shot eyes, making him look cranky as well as tired. He wore nothing over his chest, a pair of pajama bottoms covering the rest. He let out a loud yawn and then realized that there was company in the room.  
"Hey... What are you doing in here?"  
"Uh... I was just watching your room while you were sleeping."  
"I don't need anyone to watch my room."  
"Well... Alica asked me to."  
"Hm... why would she do that?"  
"I think she was going to get you another door, and she wanted to make sure nothing happened while she was gone."  
"Yeah, that sounds like her." He stumbled over to the kitcken, filled a teapot with water and set it on the burner. Then he got a box of tea down from one shelf before walking back into the front room. "You're in my chair."  
"Oh?" the doctor exclaimed, looking down at the recliner he was sitting in.   
"Get out of my chair."  
"Sorry about that." He quickly got up and moved to the couch. Long reclaimed his seat, adjusting the cushions back to the way they were before he sat down and then tilting it back into his favorite position. Stephen thought it was odd how he could be so possessive of such a thing. They sat in a nervous silence untill the teapot started to whistle. Then Long got up and poured himself a cup, steeping the tea bag in it for a few minutes and then adding a little sugar. Once it was done he walked back over to his seat and sipped at it idly, as though waiting for something. "So... uh... did you have a nice rest?" the doctor asked graciously.  
"No."  
"What a shame." They sat around for a few more minutes, and in the silence Stephen began to feel a bit more anxious. He didn't really expect the man would turn on him, not in his current condition. However he had to admit he was still afraid he would accidentally incurr his anger somehow, like by sitting in the wrong chair as he'd just done. "So, you sound like you might be coming down with some kind of cold. Maybe it would do you good to get a bit more rest."  
"My nose is getting plugged up." #318 admitted, sniffling a bit. "But the tea helps."  
"Yes, the vapors are good for soothing sore nasal passages." the doctor agreed.  
"Yes, tea is good." Long replied wearilly.  
"So there you are." Alica said, peeking through the doorway. "What are you doing in there Stephen?"  
"I just thought I would sit down for a bit." he defended. "Although it seems I sat down in the wrong place." She looked a bit confused. "I sat in his chair." he explained.  
"No one sits in my chair." the top assassin pointed out. "It's _my_ chair."  
"Long..." Alica groaned, relalizing he must have scared her new friend. "You're awfully cranky aren't you? Why don't you go back to sleep?"  
"I think I will in a minute." he agreed. "I'm tired... I wasn't able to sleep earlier, but maybe now will be different."  
"Do you think you'll still be able to complete your mission tonight? If you like I could tell Van-"  
"I'll work, cold or no cold." he interrupted. "It's not going to hurt my targets to catch a little virus before they die."  
"Are you serious?" Stephen asked, unable to understand how someone could talk about killing so lightly. #318 glared at him for a moment, set his half-finished cup of tea down on the coffe table, and them stomped back into his room.  
"Isn't he just one big @#$!ing ray of sunshine today?" Alica asked, sarcastically.   
"Sure is." the doctor agreed.   
"Well, we're going to have to leave the room for a moment, I need a little help getting the door up here."   
"I will certainly help you... why don't you go on down to your car and I'll meet you there?"  
"Uh, alright." she reluctantly agreed, wondering what he was up to. She went down into the parking lot to unload the door from the back of her car. It was a black Jeep Wranger, her favorite kind. Not the type of car usually preferred for assassins, but her style nevertheless. She could use it to go down all kinds of terrain that cops cars couldn't handle, and as she knew the city well it provided her with a decent escape every time. She leaned the door against one side and pulled a plastic shopping bag full of the rest of the equipment out of the car. Then she stood there for a minute, wondering what was keeping her new friend.   
He appeared out of the elevator momentarilly and helped her carry the door into the elevator. She supposed she could have done it herself, it wasn't a terribly heavy door, but it would have been awkward and she much preffered his help. Once they got up to the right floor they carried it over to Long's doorway. Alica stared at something that hadn't been there a moment ago, a note held floating in the doorway. It was held up by a piece of tape that was strug across the sides of the door frame. _'This is the room of #318, Tylon's most feared assassin. Enter here while he's sleeping and you'll end up just like this door.'_ the note read. Stephen snickered at her reaction to the note.   
"You did that?" she assumed. "How funny! I have half a mind to leave it there untill he wakes up... but no. I guess we'd better get to work on the door." He nodded in agreement as she took the note down and stuck it to the wall. "The first thing we'll need to do is un-screw these warped hinges." she stated. "Good thing I bought a screw driver, I don't usually need one myself... Would you do the honors, Stephen?" she asked, fishing a normal black-handled phillips screwdriver out of the bag and handing it to him.   
"Certainly." he replied, taking it, kneeling down by the trashed doorway and putting it to use. Alica dumped the remaining contents of the bag onto the floor, and then opened up the door knob and lock set, reading the instructions carefully.   
"Looks like I'll need a screw driver too..." Without any more prompting at all Stephen got up from his work and went over to get another screwdriver out of his dorm.  
"I always keep one around just in case." he explained. He finished pulling the twisted hinges off the door frame while she figured out the directions and put the door knob on the door. Once he was done he helped her with the lock, and then they cleared the remains of the old door aside and stood the new one up in it's place. Alica held it there while Stephen carefully screwed all the hinges into place, and then they turned the knob and opened and closed it a few times, testing it out. Alica even tried locking it, testing the keys. It all seemed to work just fine.  
"Alright! Looks like we're finished." she declared, smiling. "We make a great team don't we!?!"  
"For removing busted doors and installing new ones there's no better pair." he agreed, playfully. "But I think we'd probably better carry the old door down to the dumpster now." He grabbed the broken door and held it at his waist while Alica picked up the mutilated old hinges and a few splintered door pieces lying about. They went downstairs and then out to the dumpster in the back of the building, throwing them into it. Then they returned to the door and surveyed their work one more time.   
"It just needs one little finishing touch." Stephen said, chuckling as he removed the note from the wall and walked back into his dorm. Alica stood patiently outside Long's new door with a smile on her face. She jingled the keys around in her hand as she waited, reminded that she would have to give them to Long when he woke up. She considered leaving them inside, but if she did that she couldn't lock the door. If she did lock the door he could still get out, but she would have to keep the keys untill he woke up. She decided that this was the best option and locked the door.   
Stephen came back in a minute with an new note and taped it to the door, a huge grin across his face. This note read, '_This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin. Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.'_ Alica snickered at the note and smiled at Stephen.   
"You know you're got a great sense of humor, right?"  
"Well... I certainly hope he thinks so. Wouldn't want to get him angry again."  
"Aw, he was just grumpy earlier, I'm sure he'll feel better when he gets up. In fact, I think he'll like this note once he sees it."   
"I hope so." Stephen said, checking his watch. "Well, this has been loads of fun, but I've really got to be getting back to work now. Would you be kind enough to tell me when he wakes up? I've got to see the look on his face when he finds my note."  
"Will do." Alica agreed. So Stephen went back into his dorm and Alica into hers.  
  
Long moaned as he got out of bed for the second time that day. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and then stretched out his arms and stiffened back muscles before sitting up and yawning. He reached over to the top of the nightstand next to his bed and grabbed his glasses, put them on, and then stumbled out of bed. He still felt quite a bit drowsy, but thankfully his headache was finally gone. His nose was very stuffed up, but he expected as much to happen while he was sleeping. He pulled a tissue out of the box on his nightstand and blew his nose, throwing the tissue into a little trash can on the other side of his bed. Then he got up, walked to the door, and looked out into his main room.  
He was relieved to find that he was finally alone. _Ah good, no one to stare at me while I'm looking like $#!@ and make fun of how I say things,_ he thought. _And most of all, no one sitting in my chair!_ He walked into the kitchen, made himself another cup of coffe, and then sat down in his recliner to drink it. As he glanced around the room once more he noticed that the half-finished cup from hours earlier was still sitting there. And then he noticed something else, he had a door. _Didn't I break that down earlier?_ he wondered. Then he realized that it wasn't the same door, but a completely new one. He set his cup down on the coffe table, next to the other one and went over to examine the door.  
It was definately different. The last one had been had been white, just like the walls and all the other doors down the hall. This one was a deeply varnished brown, the true wood graining shown through the dark laquer. He ran one hand over it, exploring the well-carved sections and the smooth surface. It was a nice design, and he decided that he liked it. In fact this door was much more to his liking than the first door. He was almost glad he broke it down. _Alica did this._ he remembered. He had hardly been paying attention at the time, but the doctor had said something about her getting him another door, hadn't he? Not only had she goten it, but she must have set it up as well. He couldn't even begin to imagine why someone would do something so nice for him. He could feel his eyes tearing up at the corners, and then he started to sniffle a bit. He quickly went back into his bedroom and blew his nose again, stuffing a handfull of paper tissues into his pockets. Then he realized that he was still wearing his pajamas. _I can't go out to thank her wearing this,_ he realized. So he took the tissues back out and changed into some of his regular clothes, a formal tailed shirt and some pants, tied together with a belt around the waist. He even remembered to put his wrist and ankle weights back on since he knew he would be working that night. Then he walked out into the hall and knocked on Alica's door. She came to open it quickly, and as soon as he saw her he threw his arms around her and hugged her close.  
"Oh... hi Long." she muttered, engulfed in his warm chest.   
"T-thank you Alica." he mumbled, sniffling a bit as more tears came to his eyes.  
"Long, are you okay? What happened?"  
"You fixed my door, didn't you?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the face.  
"Oh, yes. But I don't see why you're so emotional about it, it was just a door."  
"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me." he explained, wiping the moisture from his eyes and sniffling a bit more.   
"Wow, you must have been _really_ neglected as a child." They both burst into laughter, untill Long had to stop and pull a tissue out of his pocket and blow his nose again.   
"You didn't have to you know. I never even asked you to..."  
"Oh, it's alright. I could see that the door needed fixing and you were obviously too tired to do it. What are friends for anyway?"  
"That's what you are Alica, you're my best friend." he hugged her again.  
"Aw, thank you Long." she replied, hugging him back, and patting him on the back. Truthfully she was starting to feel a bit embarassed for him. Afterall he wasn't usually this emotional, it seemed so unlike him. _I wonder if it's because of this cold he's getting?_ she thought. Finally they separated and she handed him the keys to his new door. "Did you see the note Stephen put up for you?"  
"Hm? What note?"   
"I guess not, it is on the other side of the door after all." He walked back towards his door, but she grabbed his hand before he could get very far. "Wait, I'm sure Stephen will want to see this..." she went and knocked on his door, which he answered swiftly. "Hey, Stephen, he's going to go read the note you left on his door now, didn't you want to watch?"  
"Oh..." he said, as though he had forgotten, he glanced back into his room, and then at his watch. "Well, I did want to, but I'm in the middle of some very important research right now."  
"Aw, come on, it'll only take a second!"  
"Ughh... Ahhhh... Ahhhhhhh... AHH-CHOOO!!!" Long sneezed, burying his nose in a handfull of tissue.  
"My goodness, you are getting a cold, aren't you?" he asked. Long sniffled and blew his nose a few times, unable to comment.   
"I would definately say so." Alica agreed.  
"I never should have killed those people from the AMA." he mumbled once he had finally cleared his nose again. "Who knows what kind of infection they gave me!"  
"There now, you see what you get for killing people?" Stephen lectured. Long glared at him angrilly but made no comment.  
"Now that's not a nice thing to say Stephen, besides Long and I are unwilling assassins, you know? Neither of use actually wants to kill, Tylon forces us to."  
"Oh..." he commented, wondering how someone could be forced to commit multiple acts of murder against their own will.  
"Anyway, why don't you two behave like good little boys and we'll all go walk over to Long's door and look at the silly little note Stephen left him, alright?" The two men nodded, helpless to resist her commands and walked back over to Long's door to look at the note.   
"'This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin.'" Singh Long read proudly. "'Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.' Sounds alot like something I would say too. He he heh..." he chuckled at it for a minutes and then turned to Stephen. "You wrote this?"  
"Y-yes." he replied, trying and failing miserably to hide his anxiety over the matter.  
"I like it... I like it very much. Thank you."  
"Oh... uh... w-well it was... no problem." he replied. Alica patted him on the back, her way of telling him there was nothing to worry about. 


	9. The ColdInfested Killer

**The Cold-Infested Killer** He stepped out of his car and into the shadows, his swift, gracefull, catlike movements blending into the darkness, hardly detectable. When he stood still he vanished almost completely. If someone had stood a mere 10 yards away and stared intently at the area for a few moments they would seen nothing. As he moved once more there were a few slight signs of life, the soft rustle of his clothing, the cold glint of light reflected off the circular frames of his glasses, the soft tap of his shoes on the asphault. He traveled up one backstreet and down another, finally sighting the place he was lookng for. A slight wind rustled the leaves of a small tree in the yard of a house, but besides that noise all was still.  
"Uuuhh..." _Oh no..._ "aahhhhhh... AH-CHOOO!" _Goddamn virus!_ He pulled another tissue out of his pocket and blew his nose. _That must've been loud enough to wake the entire cul-de-sac! I should've known better than to try and sneak around a residential area with this cold! _He heard a creaking sound near the house, and watched the front door swung open. _Damn, it would be so much better if I killed him indoors, the cops'll be on me much quicker this way. Good thing my car is parked nearby..._ he glanced back to make sure it was there. A man came out of the house ahead and glanced in his direction, but only for a moment. Then he walked down to his driveway, and lit a cigarette.   
"He just had to be a smoker, didn't he?" Long mumbled. "Great, not only will the smoke revive all of my nicotine cravings, but it will also further irritate my sneezing as well." He started walking over the grassy lawn towards the other man, coming up from behind him. _It will be a pleasure to kill you,_ he thought, already becoming irritated by the smell of the smoke. He glared angrilly at the man's back, watching the thin vapors of smoke rise over the back of his head and into the cool night air. Finally he got to the pavement of the driveway, the soft tapping of his footsteps alerting the other to his presence. When he was a few scant yards away the other turned to look behind him. The assassin smiled and walked right up to him, staring down into his up-turned face.  
"I've come for you."  
"You sound like the grim reaper when you say that."  
"As far as you're concerned, I am the grim reaper." #318 replied, quickly pulling back and then smashing the end of his right into the man's forehead. He cried out in pain as his head hit the pavement and his skull cracked wide open. _Very good,_ Long complimented himself, _but not quite dead just yet._ He moved to stomp on the man's head, but to his surpirse his foot hit nothing but the pavement as the man rolled to one side and then back up onto his feet. "That's more than I would have expected from most people." Singh Long admitted.   
"You won't take me so easilly." the man grunted.  
"Do you know that your skull is split open?" the assassin asked casually. "There's a very large gash right down the center of your head. Surely you must feel the blood running down your neck by now."  
"Wha...?" the startled man felt at the back of his head. He pulled his hand off covered with blood and brought it over to his face. "I knew I had a splitting headache." While he was distracted Long took the opportunity to jump up and do a flying kick to his stomach, sending him falling backward and down to the ground. #318 followed after him and stared down at the man as he fluttered in and out of conscious. By now his head laid in a pool of his own blood.   
"I can end it more quickly if you like." Singh Long offered, but then he felt another sneeze coming on. "Uuuuh... eehhhhh... AH-CHOOO!!!"   
"Oh great..." his victim grumbled. "I've been murdered by the sneezing assassin."  
"Hey, I resent that!" he centered his foot over the man's nose, and crushed his head into the pavement one final time. "I'm getting so tired of cleaning blood off my shoes, I've got to find a better way to kill people..." He heard a soft, high-pitched screech and looked across the street at a woman with a horror-stricken look on her face. "Good evening madam. It's a lovely night to be out working, don't you think? Uuuh... ehhhhhh... AH-CHOOO!!!" He pulled a tissue out of his pants and blew his nose while she stared at him in shock. "Well, it's been grand, but I'm afraid I've got to be going now... hopefully we will never meet again." That said he dropped the tissue on the dead body and walked back into the shadows.   
  
The next morning Alica, Bakuryu and Fox all sat waiting in the assassin room once again. Hans had finally replaced his broken mirror with a new one and seemed to be overjoyed to be able to sit around and 'enhance his natural beauty' while waiting for his assignment. He was humming happilly about something this morning while fixing his hair, twirling it gently with his brush. Bakuryu seemed grumpy as usual. He hated that fact that he was getting old, and although all had heard that he had kept his skills it was also common knowledge that his strength and speed were both steadilly deteriorating. He detested this fact, and stubbornly ignored it in favor of insisting that he would perfect his skills and regain his old position someday.  
"I wonder where Greg and #318 are?" Alica asked to no one in particular, looking at a clock on the wall and realizing that Van would call them in soon.  
"Ooo, you don't think they're off somewhere together, do you?" Fox suggested gleefully.  
"Ugh, you are sick! You just like suggesting pairs between every couple of men you can think of, don't you?"   
"Not at _all_ deary, or else I would suggest someone pairing with Bakuryu... which would be both disgusting and disastefull."  
"As if your current pairings arent." A confused look came over the old assassin's face as he considered whether he ought to be insulted at the last comment or happy that he wasn't being considered for any homosexual pairings. Finally he just brushed the matter aside.  
"I heard that Greg's been demoted..." the Master Ninja told them. "to janitorial work." Then he grinned and thought, _Just one less competitor to worry about._  
"He was a crumby assassin anyway." Hans replied, ignoring everyone else and gazing at himself in the mirror.  
"And why are you so happy today, Fox?" Bakuryu asked. "Get back with your ugly little boyfriend in the experimentation lab?"  
"It's a possibility..." he hummed. "I really don't know if I want him back. I'm much too beautiful to be seen with the likes of him, don't you think?" The room was silent for a moment after that, since no one had any comment on Fox's looks. The only sound was the ticking of the clock, and the sound of the brush that Hans ran through his golden-yellow locks. Then Alica thought she heard something in the corridors, maybe someone breathing very heavilly. So she waited a few moments, listening carefully, and a little later she heard a slight sniffling noise. Then came a bit of unsteady breathing that sounded almost like hacking, and a loud sneeze.   
_Yeah, Long's definately on his way here,_ she thought. As soon as the thought left her mind he walked though the door, blew his nose, and threw the tissue in the trash can. Everyone in the room watched as he walked towards his chair, practically falling down into it. His eyes were a bit bloodshot again, and his nose a bit red, but otherwise he looked much better than he had the day before. He sniffled a bit more and blew his nose again, then threw the tissue at the trash can, but missed. So he got up and dragged the trash can over to his chair so he wouldn't have to get up again. Then he groaned in annoyance at the symptoms and laid back in his chair.   
"You look like you're not feeling too well dear." Fox remarked. Long flipped him off, too tired and pissed to do anything more.  
"Aw, still got that cold I see." Alica sympathized, he nodded. "Maybe you should ask Van for a day off."  
"Maybe." he muttered.  
"Hope he's not contagious." Hans said, looking at him as though he was wondering whether it would be a good idea to try and get closer to him or not.  
"I'm probably contagious enough to get you sick from here." #318 suggested after realizing Fox was looking at him.  
"Hope I don't catch it." Alica added. "I am starting to get a bit of a headache, but that could be caused by so many things, like Fox's whiny voice for instance."  
"Guess I shouldn't have hugged you."  
"Ah! No fair!" Hans cried. "I'm so jealous!"   
"She fixed my door." Long explained. "Did _you_ fix my door?"  
"No."  
"Didn't you cause me to break the door in the first place?"  
"Uh... maybe..."  
"Would I ever hug you even if you _did_ fix my door? Let me answer that, _hell no_!!!"  
"Ah, how rude!" Fox sniffled. "You don't have to be so cruel to me! And don't yell, now I'm getting a headache!" he rubbed his forehead and sniffled again, and Long started cracking up.  
"MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed so loud it echoed through the room and out into the halls. Alica even giggled a little herself.  
"What's so funny!" the transvestite demanded in his high-pitched feminine voice.   
"You're catching my cold." he answered. "Serves you right for touching me!" Then he pointed at Fox and started laughing again. "Ahahahahah... ahhh... AH-CHOO!!!" And then the rest of the room burst into laughter over the sneeze that had interrupted Long's laughing. Meanwhile #318 blew his nose again.   
"Serves you right- he he- for laughing at me!" was Fox's retort. Long angrilly chucked a used tissue at him. It fluttered through the air towards him for a moment and then landed at the floor by his feet. "Can't you do better than that deary?" Hans taunted. Long growled, crinkled up another used tissue, and put more force into his throw. This time it landed right in the middle of Fox's bared chest, the runny part sticking to his skin. "EEEEEW!!! There's mucus on me!" he whined, brushing the tissue off him. And then room burst into laughter once more.  
"He who laughes last- he he- laughs best Hans!" Singh Long shouted, grinning triumphantly.   
"Hehehe... good one!" Alica agreed, laughing evilly. Even grouchy old Bakuryu joined in the laughter.  
"Ugh! I need to take a shower!" Fox squealed, he grimaced in disgust and ran out of the room.  
"That's the last time he'll try and hug me!" #318 declared. "Uhh... ehhh... ahhhh.... AH-CHOOO!!!" Then he groaned in annoyance and blew his nose, throwing the tissues in the trash now that Hans was gone.   
"Well, at least you're not feeling so miserable that you can't enjoy making other people miserable." she noted, glad he was comming back to himself.  
"Misery loves company." he agreed, smiling at how he'd made fun of Fox. She smiled back at him and then the room went silent for a moment. It could never be completely silent because of #318's constant sniffling, even when he simply tried to breathe there was a wheezing sound. He pulled a new tissue out of his pocket and blew his nose every couple of minutes. It was annoying to everyone, but Long would much rather blow it than have it running down his face. After awhile Greg walked into the room and sat down in his usual spot. Long yawned wearilly, little cirlces starting to form underneath his eyes.  
"Where's Fox?" Greg wondered.  
"I thought you were demoted." Bakuryu growled.   
"Where did you get that idea?" he wondered. The old man just grumbled some more and didn't answer, very angry that his assumption had been wrong.  
"You missed everything Greg." Alica said. "Long and Fox had the funniest argument! Finally Long just threw a tissue at him and-"  
"Long?" he interrupted. "Who is Long?" Singh Long glared at her, angry for revealing his name.  
"Sorry." she apologized.  
"That is completely obvoius Greg, you simpleton." the Ninjitsu Master snarled. "So... Long is it? I know what that name means, it means dragon. An appropriate name for a Chinese assassin, don't you think?"  
"$#!@ off." #318 grumbled, turning to glare at him.  
"Dragon?" Alica asked. "As in the mythical creature?"  
"What else could it mean?" Bakuryu demanded.  
"Shut up _Baka_ryu." Long shot back.  
"Don't call me baka!" the old assassin fumed. Van appeared in the doorway, giving each of the assassins disaproving looks for being so quarrelsome.  
"Where is Fox?" he questioned coldly.  
"He had to go take a bath." #318 replied, snickering. Van gave him a strange look that told him that she really didn't want to know what Fox had to wash off of himself. Then he entered the room and switch on the television, checking to make sure it was on the news channel. He walked over to the couch and sat down between Greg and Alica, leaning more towards Alica's side. Alica cringed at his touch and shrank away but he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. Long and Fox curiously observed this odd behavior while Greg and Bakuryu turned towards the television. A female reporter was interviewing some lady who mumbled incoherently for a bit. The screen switched back to the news room for a moment untill the woman had calmed down enough to talk, and then was put back on.  
"Now my dear, I know you've had an encounter with the murderer, and I heard he actually talked to you, is that true?"  
"Oh, yes." the woman replied shakilly. "He called me madam and said something about what a lovely night it was. And then, he... sneezed... and threw the napkin down on the dead body of the man I saw him kill. Then he said he had to leave..." Long started laughing so hard the entire chair shook. The way people seemed so surprised that a killer could even talk, let alone have a cold struck him as something that was terribly funny. Alica started to laugh, but then Van started snicking evilly, his side vibrating against Alica. She was so sickened by it that she completely lost her sense of humor. She shot a pleading look at Long, begging him to find some way to get Van off of her. But he didn't notice, he was too busy laughing. Then the screen flashed a bit as the scene changed back to the news room.   
"This is the first attack of the man who is now being called the cold-infested killer." a man announced. #318 laughed ever harder. Then Fox re-entered the room, having only decided to wash off his chest instead of bathing and changing his entire outfit. "The police have taken the aforementioned tissue as evidence, and it has been examined. However they report that it bears no initials, messages, or insignia of any kind, nothing except the results of his sneezing..."  
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Singh Long cried, holding his shaking stomach which was beginning to get sore from all the laughter.  
"This isn't funny!" Bakuryu yelled. "That means they probably have your fingerprints!" Suddenly the room fell quiet. The news program went on about other angles of the case, failing to mention whether they had his fingerprints or not.  
"$#!@..." Alica cursed. "I guess you'd better lay low for awhile Long."  
"Damn." Van agreed. "And it was just starting to become amusing, the cold-infested killer! He heh..."  
"I doubt they have me in any of their databases." #318 pointed out. "And they'll hardly come looking for me here, so why should I quit?"  
"They'll put those fingerprints in their databases." the old assassin argued. "Along with any description that woman gave them. I take it she saw you pretty well?"  
"Ah, but the chance of detection only makes the game more enjoyable." the top assassin replied, smiling. "Admittedly though, that was careless of me. Hm... too late for regrets now."  
"Hey, look!" Greg cried, pointing at the screen. A sketch of his face had been posted on the screen, not a bad one either. It made his eyes look sunk into his head too deep and his eyebrows weren't at quite the right angle. His lips were a bit thin, and they had brought out his high cheek bones even more than they should have, making him look almost emaciated. They had also drawn his glasses wrong, putting them up high on his nose while he usually wore them around the middle of it. Even with it's many imperfections the sketch it still looked enough like him that most people could recognize him from it. The news reporter gave a description along with it, stating that he was a tall man with dark hair, a medium-sized, muscular build, and sharp Asian features.  
"Now _that_ you might want to worry about." Alica advised.  
"I think it needs a little work." Hans critiqued. "He's really much better looking..."  
"Hm..." Long considered it for a moment and then shook his head. "They could never find me anyway, so why not make a little name for myself? The whole publicity thing could be very funny... Although, they may have to find a different name for me once I get over this cold." Van smiled, glad to hear that his top assassin would still be in business. Vark entered the room momentarilly and bowed to him, asking him if he wanted anything. Van shook his head to decline. "You can get me a nice hot cup of tea." #318 ordered. "Same way you made it last time will be fine." She looked at him strangely for a moment, unused to taking his orders. She looked to Van for approval and when he nodded she obediently left to go get the drink. Alica twitched uncomfortably in Van's grasp. _Please, somebody get this creep off of me! _she thought. This time Singh Long noticed her plight.  
"So, Van... what wonderful stroke of luck has influenced you to decide to grace us with your glorious presence on this fine morning?" he requested. _He sure knows how to suck up, _Alica thought. Tylon's leader absorbed every detail of the flattery, and returned a gracious smile.  
"None other than your -rather entertaining- completion of your duties my friend." he returned in his typical cool and casual manner. _If I have to listen to any more of this eloquent flattery I'm going to go insane,_ she thought. She ignored them as they launched another round of formal compliments and glanced about the room for a moment. Unfortunately she noticed that Hans was eagerly observing every compliment that they paid each other. _I have to admit that it does sound a little bit like they're flirting... but this is all just business talk... right? Would Long tell me if Van ever came on to him? Probably not..._ She involuntarilly turned to look at Van and shruddered in horror. _Van's not that type of person,_ She told herself. _He's not at all interested in Long, not for that reason. This is only about killing... I hope._  
"Anyway..." Van ended, unwrapping his arm from around Alica and standing up from the couch. She sighed in relief, overjoyed to be free from his physical presence as well as his constantly looming and oppressive psychological one. "Things have been getting a little... off... lately. I desperately need to take a day to re-coordinate my schedule. As such there will be no assignments today. Bask in this small freedom while you can since tomorrow I will have work for you as usual."  
"Alright, a day off!" Greg cried. Bakuryu looked very disapointed.Van walked out of the room and back into his office, Vark following dutifully afterwards.   
"Ooo, that was so sexy!" Fox squealed. "My heart almost skipped a beat!" #318 started looking even sicker than he already did. "You two are completely perfect for each other... in fact, one might say you _compliment_ each other perfectly! Tee-hee!"  
"Oh god." Alica protested. _Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse... not only is he talking about Long and Van being together, but making terrible puns on it as well? I can't stand this! _  
"It was perfectly obvious, _Hans,_ that I was only kissing up to him to turn his attention from Alica..." The latter casually reached one hand inside the deep pocket on her lab coat and turned on a tape recorder. _Just wait until Van hears what's going on..._ a wicked grin speard across her face. "and maybe stroking his ego a bit." Singh Long finished.   
"I bet that's not all of his you'll be stroking."   
"Grrr... that does it!" #318 rose from his seat, growled and stomped over to Fox's vanity angrilly. Alica jumped from her seat and grabbed him by the shoulders.  
"Long, don't! You remember what will happen if you kill Fox? Don't do it!" He growled angrilly, but stopped in his tracks. She stood on the tips of her toes so she could whisper into his ear. "Listen, I'm taping this conversation as evidence of what he's been saying. I'm going to play the tape to Van. Then he'll be in a whole world of trouble, so let's just wait this out and see what happens, okay?"  
"Alright Alica." he agreed, a smirk pulling at the edges of his lips. Obviously he agreed with her idea. He sat back down in the chair, and Alica went back to the couch.  
"Well, if there's no work then I'm off." Greg announced. "no reason to stick around here any longer, see you guys tomorrow." He waved and went out the door.  
"Hm... I think I'll be leaving too." Bakuryu agreed. However he chose to make his exit a little differently. He seemed to throw something to the ground and a flash of smoke clouded the area, when it cleared he was gone.  
"That's one thing I hate about those ninjas." Hans commented. "It's really a shame there's no work today, I would love to find out what happens when Van calls you into that office of his!"  
"Then I'll tell you..." Long replied slyly. "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! There, you satisfied?"  
"Of course not." he replied. "You two were so obviously flirting back there, there's definately got to be a relationship. What will you say if Van asks to f**k him I wonder?"  
"It's not going to happen." Alica stated.  
"What if it did?" Fox persisted. "You wouldn't risk your job, your reputation, not to mention your dear family just for the sake if your own pride, would you? Don't tell me you'd have the gall to turn him down, Long."  
"This question is irrelevant since it's not going to happen!" she argued.  
"Que zhi bu gong.*" he reluctantly mumbled.  
"Just as I thought!"  
"What did you say, Long?" Alica intejected.  
"It doesn't matter." he mumbled.  
"Now all that remains to be decided is who's going to be uke and who's going to be seme!" Hans declared happily. #318 groaned in annoyance as he continued. "You are both so assertive, very seme in nature, but I think Van is even more agressive than you are! If you sumbit to Van then you would most obviously be uke... unless of course he decides to become sasoi uke... Ooo, I like the sound of that! Van, the vile master of seduction!"  
"Translate to english, please?" Alica requested.  
"You don't want to know." Long groaned, looking so sickened that no one would be surprised if he lost his breakfast in the trash can at any moment.  
"I can just imagine it now..." Fox said dreamilly. "Van requests that you accompany him to his personal quarters... and you agree, too afraid of his power to refuse! Once inside he crawls onto his bed and strips off his clothing piece by piece! Enticing you to join him atop the luschious cushions for..."  
"ENOUGH!!!" the top assassin cried, unable to stand it any longer. He jumped from his chair and ran off, Alica trailing afterwards. He ran all the way up to his room, not stopping to look back. Finally he got to his door and frantically pulled out the keys and worked on the locks. Alica caught up to him and put one hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him by petting it softly. "I have the most horrible mental images now... AH!" he screamed, dropped the keys, and put his hands over his eyes, closing them tightly in an effort to banish the images form his mind. It didn't work of course, since they were mental images afterall and not visual ones. "He is so _sick_!"  
"Don't worry about it Long, it's not going to happen, my brother may be a lot of things, but I'm very sure he's not gay."  
"_Very_ sure?" he repeated. "How sure exactly?"  
"Well, he certainly seems as repulsed by Fox as you are..."  
"But that's not the point! This is about me and him, not him and Fox! He treats me differently... at first I just thought it was because of my skill or rank, but now... Arrrgh! I'm no longer sure! The mere thought of this scares me, Alica! It scares me very much!"  
"It's not going to happen! Long, trust me. Van is not that kinda guy, okay? He just doesn't swing that way."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I'm positivly, absolutely, 100% certain."  
"Well... if you say so..." Down the hall they heard the creaking of a door as it opened, out came Dr. Stephen Goldberg.  
"What's with all the racket out here you two? Some of us actually work in these dorms you know."  
"Sorry Steve." #318 replied. "uhhh... ehhhhh... AH-CHOOO! Damn cold!" he pulled another tissue out of his pocket and blew his nose again.  
"I'd much prefer Stephen if you don't mind." the doctor said. "What's going on?"  
"It was Fox again." Alica explained. Stephen looked confused. "You know, the transvestite?"  
"Oh, him... or, should I say it? Looks more like a her, but-"  
"I hate him." Long interrupted. "I swear I'm going to kill him one day... just not today." Dr. Goldberg shook his head in disaproval at the threat.  
"Anyway... My lunch hour is coming up shortly, and I was thinking I wouldn't mind a bit of company if you two are up for it."   
"We'd be happy to join you." Alica answered.  
"We? What do you mean _we_?" Singh Long complained. "I'm going to take a nap! I don't even care about eating. You go and join him for lunch if you like, I'll be up in my dorm." That said he unlocked his door, went inside, and locked it again.  
"Guess he's still a bit grouchy." she concluded. "Meh... Oh well, his loss."  
  
*To refuse would be impolite. 


	10. Thoughts of an Assassin

**Thoughts of an Assassin** Long headed straight for his bedroom and let himself drop into his bed, weary with more than just physical exhaustion. He cuddled up on his pillow and tried to drive all thought from his head, failing in the effort. Fox's suggestions about him and Van scared him more than he wanted to admit. Before he had been certain that as long as he obeyed Van's orders he would have nothing to fear. _But what if those orders included...? _He couldn't even finish the sentence in his own mind, he burrowed his head under the pillow trying to make the thoughts go away. He hated to admit how afraid of Van he really was, and that aside from his rank, he was really no different than any of the others: a worthless pawn to be used at Tylon's every whim.   
_I don't need to be thinking about this,_ he told himself, getting up from the bed. _I need something to calm me down... maybe a nice warm shower, and then a little drink at the bar. Yes, that will make me feel better._ He started by taking off his wrist and ankle weights, thankfull that he wouldn't be needing them that day. Then he started undressing, consoling himself with the thought of a warm shower. He also figured that Alica probably knew what she was talking about. After all she knew Van better than anyone else, right? And if Van was repulsed by Fox then there was reason enough to think that he wasn't attracted to men. Although, it didn't prove that he wasn't either. He didn't really seem to be attracted to anyone for that matter, except maybe...  
"Alica." the mere mention of her name made him recall what had happened earlier that evening. He hadn't really though about it since then, but what was Van's reason for sitting so close to her? Could it have been simply friendship or brotherly love the way he wrapped his arm around her back? Long made a face, revolted by the thought. _Really I don't know which is worse, me and Van or Van and Alica. _He decided that it could have been a platonic action, but at the same time he still felt a strange sort of suspicion eating away at him inside. Afterall Van seldom treated anyone with reguard or respect, if she was nothing more than a sister to him, wouldn't he spurn or ignore her just as he did everyone else? _Even if he doesn't want her for that, he wants her for something._ #318 decided.  
"Enough of this!" he declared, shaking his head clear. "This day has already included much more talk about gay sex and incest than I would like to have heard in my lifetime! I wish there were some way I could completely avoid Hans!"   
  
Meanwhile Alica Tylon and Dr. Stephen Goldberg sat facing each other at one end of a long table in the middle of the cafeteria eating their lunches. It was fairly deserted, but that was usual, most of Tylon's employees ate elsewhere. No one really knew why, perhaps because the cafeteria was located near the experimentaion lab, and no one wanted any part of that. There were also rumors about the food of course, as with all cafeterias. Stephen completely dismissed the rumors as being childish superstitions. The truth was that the food was usually very good, although it didn't always look terribly appetizing.   
"I really don't know what's gotten into him lately, I do hope he hasn't offended you, Stephen." Alica apologized. "Actually it's in his nature to be somewhat short with people, but lately he's just been getting worse. I think Fox is really starting to get on his nerves, not to mention that cold."   
"Well, I certainly don't blame him for being a bit edgy." Dr. Goldberg admitted. "I do think he ought to try and control his anger a little more though. Afterall you can't go around getting mad at everyone for what one person has done to you, or just because you've got a miserable cold." Alica nodded her agreement and then took another bite of her burger. In a way she was almost glad he wasn't there, especially if he was going to be in his grouchy mood again. He wasn't any fun then. "What is with this 'Fox' character anyway? And why would anyone chose to call themselves a name like that?"  
"Beats me." she shrugged. "He's a transvestite, he may as well call himself 'the lovely bishie' for all I care, it's a feminine thing I guess."  
"I see..." he trailed off, not wishing to continue that discussion. "So what is with him and that other man?"  
"Long? Well, Fox finds him attractive, and he doesn't return the sentiment at all... in fact he's getting pretty homophobic over it I think."  
"But why be attracted to someone who finds you repulsive?"  
"I have no idea. Fox has always been weird that way. Afterall he was already with Busuzima, who certainly didn't show him any respect at all. And he's liked my brother Van for a long time, hell, who doesn't find his power attractive? Well, you know I sure don't, but... anyway... Who knows why he's going after Long? Maybe he enjoys going after people who despise him, maybe he's desperate, or maybe he's just lonely after dumping Busuzima. I really could care less."  
"Me too." a voice from behind her agreed. She turned her head to see Long walking towards her, carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it. She noticed that his hair was down, and slightly damp, but besides that he looked as he usually did. He sat down next to her at the table and unfolded a napkin, setting it on his lap. Then he started stirring his soup, waiting for it to cool down a bit.   
"I thought you weren't coming?" Alica complained. "And what's with the hair?"  
"I changed my mind, and I just got out of the shower."  
"There's a such thing called a blow drier." she reminded.  
"Blow drying really isn't good for your hair, you know?"  
"Just don't let Fox catch you with your hair down like that..."  
"I don't mean to." he replied, spooning some of the soup into his mouth. There was an akward moment of silence as Stephen and Alica watched him eating the soup. They both wondered why he was there. Neither were surprised that he simply invited himself to their table, but they were still a bit offended. _Who does he think he is to come waltzing in here like that?_ Alica wondered. _Well, he is the top assassin, and he was invited to lunch with us, but still... _He finished the spoonful of soup, taking his time to swallow it. Then he had to sneeze and blow his nose again. "Uh... I realize that my behavior earlier might have a bit rude." he apologized.   
"But you didn't come here just to apologize to us, did you? What do you want?"  
"Very perceptive, Alica." he admitted, snickering. "Well... I should have expected that you would catch on. I want something that I can't get for myself out here."  
"And what prey tell is that?"  
"Just a little drink, but if I've heard correctly you have to be of a certain age and have some kind of identification card in order to get it. I have neither."  
"Yes, 21 is the age requirement, you're not 21 yet?"  
"I'm one year shy I'm afraid."  
"Well, I'm obviously not over 21 myself, so... Oh! So you want Stephen to buy some alcohol for you?"  
"In a nuttshell, yes. What do you think, Stephen?"  
"I think it's not usually a good idea to drink while you've got a cold." he replied.  
"Aw, but I need something to numb the pain." #318 begged.  
"He, heh... Nice try, but it only works that way if you pour it on an open wound, and not if you drink it. Unless you drink too much, which I wouldn't suggest either."  
"Come on Steve. Just a six pack of beer or maybe a little bottle of wine. I've got the money and you've got the experience. I'll even buy you a bottle of your favorite poison if you like, what do you say?"  
"I say: don't call me Steve. I've already told you I prefer Stephen, that's not so hard to say, is it? Really I'm not insisting you call me Dr. Goldberg or anything, the least you could do in the way of respect for your elder is call me Stephen."  
"Alright then, Stephen. How about it? I think a little drink would do us all some good. Sit back, relax, lossen up for awhile... forget for a moment the stresses of working for a monsterous company like Tylon! So, why don't the three of us buy a little alcohol then then go kick back in my dorm for a bit?"  
"I'm not really a big drinker myself." Alica objected.  
"Actually that sounds appealing to me." Stephen agreed. "However I've got to go back to work soon, maybe after I'm done... I could probably use a break by then."  
"Very well." Long agreed. "And you don't have to join us, Alica. No one's going to force you to. It can just be the two of us men, right Stephen?  
"I think all that's sneezing's starting to kill off your brain cells if you think I'm gonna let you two drink alone." she replied. "Afterall there's got to be one sober person in the group, right?"  
"I won't get too drunk." Dr. Goldberg assured her. "But a little buzz would be nice."  
"I'm not planning on getting wasted either." Singh Long added. "Just a little drink or two."  
"Anyway, I really ought to be going now." Stephen said, checking his watch. "Back to work as usual... If you're going to be in your dorm then I'll just come knock on your door when you're ready, Long."  
"Don't forget me either." Alica reminded. The doctor nodded and rose from the table, then he dumped the remainder of his lunch into the nearest trash can and left the cafeteria.   
"Sounds like it's going to be fun, don't you think?" Long asked.  
"I think you're a moocher. Really, that performance was terrible."  
"Perhaps so, but I got what I wanted didn't I? At least I won't have to go to all the trouble of finding someone to make me a fake ID, although if I'm going to stay here very long then I probably should."   
"You don't care about anyone but yourself." she complained.  
"Who else should I care about, hm? You? Well I do care about you, but you already knew that. So don't ask silly questions that you already know the answers to."  
"You're an egotistical maniac."  
"That's me."  
"And you're not at all ashamed?"  
"Why should I be? Caring for few people besides myself is the only thing that keeps me alive and sane in this horrible line of work." He stirred his soup a bit and sipped another spoonfull or two while Alica contemplated the matter.  
"I guess you're right." she agreed.  
"If I cared about all people like you do, then I would also end up saving other people's lives and risking my own. Not to mention the lives of those whom I protect. I cannot afford to care about people." he explained.  
"And you think I should be that same way? You think I shouldn't risk my own neck to save the people I'm sent to kill?" she asked. He ignored her in favor of sipping up some more soup, hoping that ahe would realize that the answer was obvious. "You do, don't you? But I don't have anyone else to protect or worry about like you do. The only reason I'm killing in the first place is to preserve my own worthless life. I need to take the risk and save people if I can. Otherwise I'll go insane."  
"Alica, you're going to become insane sooner or later anyway in this line of work, everyone does. Just look at Fox, Bakuryu, and Greg if you want an example."  
"Oh? And won't you also go insane eventually as well? Or do you think you are the one exception?"  
"I have a plan." #318 revealed. "I'm going to get out of this one day, I'll just leave it all behind me."  
"How are you going to do that? Van will kill your family if you leave."  
"Not if he can't find them."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Much of my income as an assassin is saved up in a bank account. Once I have enough money to support my mother and sister for the rest of their lives I will take them and go into hiding. No one can stop me if I act quickly enough, not even Van, and I know of places where we will never be found. They can kill my father while I'm gone if they like, I really don't care. Of course, my mother and sister might not like it, but there's no way I'm saving his @$$. Not after what he put me through."  
"Where can you hide from Van, Long? We have branches all over the world. Tylon is everywhere, and he will find you."  
"There are places." was his aloof reply. "But I'm not telling you. Not because I don't trust you, you understand? But because you will be certinaly be questioned after I'm gone. You are a poor liar, Alica Tylon."  
"I'm going to have to work on that." she muttered.   
"Oh, look! You've got your hair down!" cried a high-pitched femine voice that could only belong to Fox.  
"Oh, no." Long groaned, jumping from his seat.  
"Going to run again?" Alica assumed.  
"I'm in no mood to put up with him today." he explained, starting off towards the door.   
"Where are you going my lovely little bishie?" Fox called, running towards them with a lunch tray balanced in his hands. Long dashed out of the room and towards the stairs. Fox ran after him a bit, but when he got to Alica's table he stopped. "Aw... how come all the pretty ones always get away?"  
"If I were you I'd leave him alone, Hans." Alica advised. To her surprise Fox sighed and sat down across from her at the table.   
"I think I'd rather finish my lunch then chase him anyway." the transvestite agreed, taking a bite out of his sandwitch.   
"Why are you after him in the first place? Can't you see that he doesn't like you?"  
"But I'm so lonely. Ever since Busu cheated on me, I feel so worthless!"  
"That doesn't mean that you've gotta go chasing down people who don't want you."  
"But no one does want me." Hans sniffled. Alica considered taking her lunch somewhere else in order to avoid him, but then she realized that she actually pitied him a bit. Anyway it would be rude for her to simply leave, so she resumed eating her lunch. They ate in silence for a few minutes, each a bit uncomfortable and wary of the other's presence, both secretly wondering why the other was still there. Fox glanced up at her with a questioning look in his eyes once or twice, but rather than speak to him she ignored the look. Finally she finished her meal and got up to leave. "Alica..."   
"Yes?"  
"Could you just... put in a good word for me, with Long?"  
"I'm sorry Hans, but he's never going to be interested in you. You should just accept that."  
"But I like him!"  
"Fox, seriously, you ought to try and be more realistic. Find someone who appreciates you for who you are (if such a person exists). Quit running after people who despise you." That said she turned and left, hoping that he would consider her words. _First I scold Long a bit and now give some advice to Hans... What am I, the company's counselor?_ she wondered. _At least Stephen seems to be mature enough not to need it... _She thought about dropping by his dorm for a moment, but then realized that he would be working. _Guess I'd better leave him alone. _  
  
Long ran all the way up to him room once more, dashing through his door and locking it behind him. Then he leaned against the back of the door, waiting for the dreaded sound of pursuit. He listened carefully for any sounds outside his door, trying to control his breathing in order to hear. After a few minutes his breathing calmed down, but still he heard nothing. He stood there a bit longer, wondering what could possibly keep his stalker, and then realized that Hans must have given up this time.   
"What a relief." he muttered to himself. He wondered what could have kept Hans from following him, almost daring to hope that the feminine man was losing interest in him. _Probably not, _he thought. _As much as I might hope for it, it is hardly probable._ He sighed and walked into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. As he poured the water into his kettle and set it on the stove he wondered what he was going to do with the rest of the day. Usually he used most of his time planning his assignments, playing them out in head head before time. He would go over them meticulously, assuring himself that once he took action everything would go well. But today there was no assignment, which gave him nothing to do but think.  
He sat down on the couch for a moment while waiting for the water to boil. He thought about turning on the TV, but discarded the idea almost immediately. Much of what was on would be news about last night's killing, and anything else usually failed to hold his interest. He found most TV shows boring and dull, the news was all he watched anymore. He could remember a time when he was younger and enjoyed watching a few shows, but his interest in them had only been a fleeting thing. All the action, horros, fantasy, romance and game shows were absolutely unnecessary in his eyes. Reality shows had caught his interest once, but after a short while their novelty wore off. He watched a comedy show now and then, but found that he was no longer in possession of even the slightest sense of humor, besides the humor he found at the torment of his targets.  
The kettle whistled, interrupting his thoughts. He quickly got up and poured himself a cup, steeping his tea for a minute and stirring in a tiny bit of sugar. _All of life is such a futile attempt at happiness, _he thought. _There is nothing to believe in anymore, and nothing to hold on to, except... the people you love._ He took a comforting sip of his tea, savoring it's warmth and bitter-sweet taste as he sat down in his recliner. The thought of being able to save his family used to comfort him as well, but lately it had little effect against his guilt at his own actions. _I have already been doing this far too long,_ he complained. But there was no one to complain to except himself.   
He felt as though he were sinking into a bottomless black pit, falling endlessly, unable to free himself from the darkness that consumed him. He could almost feel the emotional pain, as though it were a physical ache within his heart. A bit more of him died each time he took the life of another. The pain was becoming too much to bear, and sometimes he wondered if it would ever end. He remembered all too well how it had started, his first kill quickly followed by the second, third and fourth. And so began an endless succession of deaths caused by him. The truth was that he had no idea exactly how many people he had killed, he never counted them of course. The one thing knew was that had been thousands, the end of it still nowhere in sight.   
He sighed and set his tea cup down on the coffe table. The expression on his face was one of solemn hatered for his predicament. His eyes were as empty and soulless as if they were made of glass, and cold as ice, betraying no part of his inner torment. His mouth an emotionless line across his face, denying it's self of the slightest expression of feeling. It was the countenace of a man who had worn so many different grimaces of pain that he had exhausted his ability to do so. He coud no more wear a face lined with pain than he could smile with happiness. Even his laughter, which had once been full of life and joy, was now reduced to nothing more than a deep, empty outlet for air.  
_I need help._ he admitted, grabbing his cup of tea and taking another sip. He reminded himself that there was no way he could leave, not now. Now untill he could assure himself that his family would be safe. But how much more of his lifestyle could he stand? How much more self-induces torture would he have to inflict before it was finally time to put an end to it all? _If I don't get out of this soon I am going to go insane, _he anticipated. _But I must wait. For now all I need is something to calm myself down, something other than a simple cup of tea. _He momentarilly considered going back to the cigarettes, but quickly disguarded the idea. _Such filthy things..._  
Oddly enough it was his work that usually calmed him down. He hardly understood why himself. Perhaps it was the fact that planning out his killings occupied his thoughts, keeping him from remembering the pain. But the reason that he hated to admit to most of all, was that taking his anger out on his targets was also becoming a source of comfort to him. _Irionic,_ he thought. _That the very cause of my pain, is also the easiest way for me to release it._ But it did feel good to hit something, to strike out in anger, even if it couldn't be at the people responsible for it. He found that he desired it, so much that he wished that Van had given him an assignment that day. Anything to take out his anger and keep him from thinking about who he was.  
He abruptly decided that sitting around in his dorm wasn't going to accomplish anything. He finished his tea and took the cup back to the kitchen, rinsing it out and setting it in the sink. Then he headed straight for the door, unlocked it, walked through it and locked it again on his way out. He walked down the empty hallway, headed for the elevator. He was going out. He didn't know where he was going, his destination was irrelevant. He had to do something, go somewhere, anywhere to get away from himself. He paused for a moment in front of Alica's door, thinking that maybe she could help. Then he shrugged the idea off. Alica has enough problems of her own, she doesn't need to share in mine.  
So he walked on to the elevator, took it down to the parking lot, and jumped into his car, starting the ignition at once and starting off. He drove aimlessly around the city streets for several minutes, only becoming nervous and apprehensive. He felt almost as if eyes were watching him, but whenever he looked there was nothing. Then he remembered the news program from earlier that day, people would be looking for him. _Ugh, what am I doing_? he thought. _This was a very bad idea._ He immediately turned around and drove straight back towards Tylon, parking his car in it's usual spot. He stood next to it for a moment, refusing to return to his dorm, but unable to leave the building.   
Then he reluctantly started back towards the elevator, wondering what he was going to do. He wanted to get out, but knew that it would be dangerous to do so. _Do the city police know anything about my car?_ he wondered. They could have his license plate number for all he knew, and they certainly had his physical description. So what could he do? He certainly couldn't go walked about on the street during the day, that would be even stupider than driving around in his car. _What if I wore some kind of disguise? _he wondered. He hated to think of changing his appearance in any way, but he was desperate to leave. _In any case they will certainly recognise me in this, he reminded himself, looking down at his uniform._  
After re-entering his dorm he went straight to his bedroom and took off all but his underclothes, then started searching through his drawers. There wasn't really much there to begin with, and he reminded himself that he really ought to buy some more clothes soon, but then again he would be recognized. _Goddamnit._ he griped. _I just had to let that woman see me, didn't I? Curse the bitch! Oh well, it is my own fault... I even stayed to chat with her, really brilliant aren't I?_ After completeing a search of his drawers he found that he had brought nothing other than the formal Chinese clothing he usually wore, which would make him a dead giveaway on the streets. _You are hopeless Long, _he scolded himself. _Completely hopeless_. So he did the only thing he could do under the circumstances, he curled up on his bed and fell asleep. 


	11. Drunken Master Assassin

**Drunken Master Assassin** He awoke to a muffled knocking sound. At first it didn't penetrate his subconscious, but it kept on coming, persistant in it's efforts to wake him from his sleep. Finally he got out of bed, threw a robe over his underclothes and stumbled sleepilly to the door. He yanked it open to find Alica and Stephen on the other side, staring at him as if he were some kind of ghost. He looked very tired and he had the dark circles under his eyes to prove it. His hair was a mess, sticking up everywhere from all the tossing and turning. He still felt very tired too, but he was glad they he woken him up. He smiled wearilly, trying to reassure them that he was glad to see them, but they only looked more startled.   
"Are you alright, Long?" Alica asked. "Maybe we should've let you sleep."  
"I'll sleep later." he replied. "Anyway, I've been thinking that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to go out in public after what I did the other night. So why don't you two just go and get the alcohol? I'll be dressed by the time you get back." He reached into one of his pockets, looking for his wallet, and then remembered that he had left it in the pockets of his pants. So he walked back into his room, pulled it out, walked back over to the door and handed Stephen a few twenties. "If you wouldn't mind Stephen, could you please get me a twelve pack of beer? I'm going to horde it in my fridge so I don't have to ask someone else to go on errands for me everytime I need a drink."  
"Sounds like a plan." he replied. "I won't need all of this though."  
"Well, get yourself a drink, and Alica too if she wants anything, and then just bring back whatever's left."  
"Nope, not me." Alica refused. "You two can kill your taste buds with the foul, bitter taste and poison your bodies with the toxins of alcohol if you like, but I'm staying away from it."  
"She's probably smarter than both of us there." Stephen admitted, chuckling. "Well, to each his own. I'll be back in a little while Long. So get some clothes on, and for God's sake do something about your hair."  
"Is it really that bad?" he asked, brushing one hand through his bangs and over the top of his head. He felt all kinds of knots and tangles. "I guess so... Oh well, I never claimed to look good right after crawling out of bed."  
"I don't think anyone does." Alica agreed.  
"See you two later." he said, closing the door. He stood there listening to their footsteps as they left, trying to wake himself up. Then he walked over into his kitchen and started boiling some water, thinking that a cup of tea would be a good start to waking up. Then he went into his bedroom and put his clothes back on, and brushed all the tangles out of his hair. By the time he was done the water was boiling and he poured himself a cup of tea and sat down in his recliner to wait for them. Immediately his thoughts started wandering again, he started thinking about who and what he was, and what he was doing. He tried to stop thinking about it, but everytime he tried his thoughts always drifted back. _I hope they get back soon,_ he thought while sipping up the last of his tea.   
He got up and set his cup on the table, reminding himself that the next time he got a chance he should go out and get himself some kind of end table to put next to his recliner. Finally there was a knock at the door and he got up and welcomed them in. Stephen handed him the spare change, which he put back in his wallet before taking the beer to the fridge. He motioned for the others to sit down while he opened a package and took out a few beers. When walked back into the main room he was almost afraid he'd find Stephen in his chair again. Luckilly the man had gotten the point last time and sat on the couch with Alica instead. So Long sat back down in his recliner, opened the can and took several big gulps of the bitter liquid. He noticed that Stephen had a bottle of something open, but was unable to tell what it was from where he sat, not that it mattered.   
"So Alica..." he began. "why the dislike of alcohol, hm?"  
"I don't like the taste of it." she stated. "And it's no good for your health anyway, so I just stay away from it. But forget about me, what makes you two like the stuff?"  
"For me it is simply a little indulgence." Stephen replied. "And not all of it is bitter you know, some of it can be quite sweet. I bet you've never tried a cooler or a mudslide."  
"Bleh. I've only tried a chardonay, and I hated it. So I'll not try anything else, thanks."  
"Suit yourself. What's your favorite drink, Long?"  
"Beer I guess. Nothing fancy. I don't really care for many hard liquors either. I prefer wine on special occasions. I usually like a chardonnay or a burgundy."   
"I don't know how you can drink that stuff." Alica complained, making a face.  
"It's an aquired taste I guess." he replied casually. He finished off the first can of beer and set it on the coffe table before opening another.  
"That was quick." she complained. "Hope you hold your liquor well."  
"Well, I intend to drink untill I can't think straight, seeing as I've been thinking too much lately. Once I can't think straight I may keep on drinking though..."   
"So you're drinking to forget about something?" Stephen asked. He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer, but Long just ignored him and took another gulp pf his beer. "Not really a good idea if you ask me. Personally I only drink a little bit, as sort of a novelty. Why risk getting drunk anyway, you might end up doing something you regret, or some_one_ for that matter..."  
"Stephen!" Alica protested, as he chuckled at the joke.  
"Some_one_?" Long complained. "I'm not that type of man. Not that type of drunk either, it's much more likely I'll end up crawling around in a gutter or killing someone who gets in my way. If I get to that point I'll lock myself in my room first and sleep it off first."  
"How are you going to do that if you don't even have the mental presence required to restrain your own actions?" Stephen wondered. Long gave him a dirty look, which made him back off.   
"Anyway, no matter how it goes it's got to be better than remaining so conscientious about everything."  
"So, you admit that you have a conscience then?"   
"Wish I could say that I didn't... but unfortunately I can't. Why people seem to think that all assassins have no conscience anyway? Just because we kill for money? Ha! Both Alica and I have better motivation than that."  
"What does Alica have to do with it?"  
"Didn't she tell you? She's an assassin too."  
"No." They both turned to Alica, who groaned nervously at being the center of attention.  
"I find that slightly amusing... why not Alica?"  
"I didn't want him to be scared of me, like he is of you." she admitted.  
"You told me you were a scientist!" Stephen protested.  
"I am, but I'm also an assassin."  
"Why?"  
"Forget it." Long advised, finishing off his second beer and opening a third. "It isn't her choice you know, she either kills others, or dies herself. Survival of the fittest I guess."  
"I see..." the other man replied, shaking his head. "What a shame, a sad predicament to be caught up in. I don't know if I could kill others simply to preserve my own life."   
"I don't know if I can keep doing it either." she agreed, hanging her head.  
"I wouldn't." Singh Long contributed. "At the state that I'm in now I would simply let them kill me. I almost wish I could, death would be a welcome alternative to this life. But there are others to think of..."  
"What 'others' do you speak of?" Stephen asked. "You actually care about someone?"  
"He has a better reason for being an assassin than I do, Stephen." Alica explained, turning his attention from Long. "He kills to keep his loved ones alive, while I only kill to save my own worthless hide." At that moment she truly despised herself, terrified of what she had forced herself to do to stay alive. She felt selfish for taking so many lives simply to preserve her own, and merciless for sparing only one of those she had been sent to kill. Yet, she knew no other way to survive, and she couldn't begin to think of dying. "I guess, I'm just afraid to die. I never thought it would all end this soon, so I keep on doing what I need to do to live, but..." She trailed off, getting too emotional to be able to finish. Her eyes started tearing up. Stephen set his drink down on the table and patted her on the back, a concerned look on his face.  
"I never knew it could be like this." he admitted. "I always thought that the only reason people became assassins was for money. I never knew that Tylon blackmailed people into it by threatening to take their lives and the lives of the ones they loved. What a wretched bag of scum they are for doing this to you."  
"I hate Van." #318 stated.  
"I thought you liked working with my brother." Alica reminded him, wiping the moisture from her eyes and straightening up in her seat. "What made you change your mind?" He took a long swig of his drink before replying, obviously trying to drown out his doubts.  
"Well, I suppose I ought to have hated him since the very beginning... seeing as he is the leader of Tylon and all. But it was your father's idea to threaten to kill my family, not his... so I decided not to hold it against him. Foolish decision, considering that he would do the same thing just as quickly, if not faster. I guess I respected him right up untill he threatened to kill my family if I got any closer to you. An inadequate reason to waste a brilliant assassin such a myself, don't you think? What makes you so important to him anyway? Well, never mind. My point was that it reminded me of what kind of an ass hole he is."  
"So it doesn't bother you untill your own family is threatened?" Stephen concluded, shaking his head in dissaproval of the other's large ego. "And what's this about you staying away from Alica?"  
"Van has forbidden me from so much as looking at her in a way that he sees unfit, at the cost of my own, and my family's lives."   
"Why would he do that?"  
"Who knows?"  
"Well I guess that if I had a sister I wouldn't want you touching her either..."  
"You're not still afraid of me, are you?"  
"Whatever gave you that idea?"  
"I'm an assassin, Steve. I can smell fear as though it were a stench hanging in the air, sense it the same way a chill creeps up your spine on a cold night."  
"Don't be so dramatic!" Alica scolded.   
"Don't call me Steve." Stephen requested.  
"Steve." #318 said.  
"Meh... what's wrong with you?" she demanded, realizing that he was being a bit more irritable than usual. "I think you've already had too much to drink!"   
"I don't." he argued, finishing off his third beer.   
"I would slow down if I were you," Stephen warned. "what you've already consumed will catch up with you pretty quickly."  
"I don't give a $#!@."   
"Hey, don't take that kind of attitude with him!" Alica threatened, raising her voice and glaring at him. "Stephen, maybe it's time we leave..."  
"I agree." he said, rising from the couch and heading for the door. "If I were you, Long... I would lock myself in for the night now and sleep it off." Alica followed him to the door.  
"Are you trying to order me around?" #318 asked, climbing off his chair. Stephen sighed in resignation and shook his head, then he and Alica left the room.   
"I'm sorry Stephen." Alica apologized. "I admit he usually acts like a jerk, but this is beyond even his normal attitude."  
"He's just a rotten drunk." the doctor replied, shrugging. "I've seen it all the time... people like him are the very reason that choose to I monitor my drinking." They stood silently in front of his door for a moment, and then Stephen took her arm and lead her down the hall, thinking it would be best of they weren't around if he decided to come out of his dorm. "He really doesn't hold his liquor well, I wouldn't be surprised if he got much worse before going into a hangover. I think it's best for us not to be around when that happens. You can come visit my dorm for awhile if you like, we can sit and chat. That way at least the entire day isn't wasted... not as wasted as he is anyway. Hehehe..."  
"How can you joke about something like this?" she asked, unable to completely suppress a slight giggle herself. His laughter was bright and cheerfull, something she hadn't heard in a long time. And also quite contagious. But as good as it felt to laugh with him she still forced her self to become serious. "I'm worried. I hope he doesn't get himself into any trouble."  
"What trouble could he get into? He can certainly take care of himself."  
"I just hope he's not stupid enough to kill anyone important and get Van angry at him."  
"Hm..." Stephen hummed, glancing into her face and noticing her serious expression. "You really care for him, don't you? Well, I'm sure he'll be fine. Don't fret about it. I'm sure he'll just decide to sleep it off. Besides the hangover, he'll be all better in the morning."  
"I hope you're right."   
  
"I'll show you." Singh Long told the closed door, as though they could still hear him. "You think you're so smart, don't you? 'Lock yourself in' he says... Heh, I'll show you that I can go out and have a little fun." He was about to leave the room right then and there, but he wasn't so far gone yet that he didn't realize that Alica would probably scold him again if she saw him leave. _The bitch,_ he thought unreasonably, unable to control the slightest bit of his anger. _So you think I've been drinking too much, huh? I'll show you._ He got two more beers out of his fridge and swallowed them down in two long gulps, just to spite her. Then he stood there haughtilly with his hands on his hips, proud that he had enough control of himself that he could do so. Then he strode towards the door and opened it wide, peering out into the hallway beyond. Fortunately, he didn't see them anywhere. He stepped out and walked towards the elevator, with no idea at all where he was going.  
He got into it and pushed a few buttons, with no real concern as to where it was taking him. Truth was he was getting too angry to care. _Who do they think they are to order me around anyway? I'm Tylon's top assassin! I shouldn't have to listen to orders from the likes of them._ He though briefly about going back and telling them so, but he couldn't seem to remember which button to push or which floor they were on. He just waited untill the elevator stopped and got off. He walked off into the building in search of them, taking numerous turns and walking down hallways, often walking around in circles without even realizing it. After awhile he accepted the fact that he was hopelessly lost, at which point he got angry again. Finally he was stopped by someone who noticed his wandering, softly tapping him on the back.  
"Hey, you've been wandering around my laboratory for almost half an hour. Are you lost?" He turned around to see a gangly looking fellow wearing a lab coat. He had a hideous face: an insane looking, toothy, gaping grin; a flat, squashed-looking nose; and green, grass-like hair. "Hubba, hubba! You must be lost 'cause I know I've never seen such a lovely man in this part of the building!"  
"Ugh..." he groaned in annoyance. "Will you please just tell me how to get out of here?"  
"Well I could... but that would be depriving me of such beautiful scenery! Why don't I tell you the way to my dorm room instead?" He closed one eye to wink at the other man, and as soon as he opened it back up Long's fist was in his face. _Cross me and you will die!_ #318 thought, delighting in the screams of pain that his fists drew from the man as he rained punches into his chest. _Yeees! This is what I needed! A little fight to calm me down... A little pain and blood..._ He stopped for just a moment while the other was stunned, and then kicked his legs out from under him and bent over and punched the back of his head.   
"Oh my! Whatever is going on in here!" The familiar feminine voice came from behind, but he still had to turn and look before he realized who the voice belonged to.  
"He hit on me." Long stated, as though it explained everything and justified him in beating the man.  
"He did?"  
"Yes." Fox strolled casually over to his side and glared down at the beaten green-haired man who looked up at him with a sheepishly apologetic expression on his face.  
"Eh, Fox-kun... I can explain!"  
"How dare you!" he cried, smacking the ugly one in the face with his purse. "I give you one last chance to make up for your crude behavior only to find you hitting on another man!?!" He glanced at Long and smiled. "Admittedly he is a cutie... but that doesn't justify this! It's over Hajime, we're through!"  
"N-no... my Foxy! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase!" he cried, begging for mercy like the coward he was.   
"Hmpf!" Hans muttered, turning away. Then he glomped Long, and since he was as drunken as he was he wasn't able to keep his balance and they both fell backwards onto the floor. Busuzima silently crawled away. "How can I ever thank you for beating up that pervert?" Fox asked, snuggling on top of him and curling his bangs with one of his fingers. Long was terrified.  
"AHH! HELP!" He struggled out from under Hans and up to his feet, starting to feel a little dizzier than he should. He was too far gone to even remember the alcohol he'd been drinking earlier, and so didn't realize that it's effects were settling in. He tried to run off, but stumbled on his own feet, falling to the ground.   
"Oh dear, have you tripped on something? Let me help you up." Fox said, offering him a hand. Long shoved it away and tried to get up on his own, but stumbled to the floor again.   
"Why is the hallway moving out from under my feet?" he asked.  
"Did he hit you on the head or something?" Hans asked, truly concerned. "Oh, poor baby!" He grabbed his arm and picked him off the ground, half supporting and half dragging him towards the elevator. "Why don't you come up to my dorm room and we'll have a look and see if you've got a nasty wittle bump?"  
"I don't wanna!" he protested, making a pathetic attempt to struggle away.  
"Come, come, now. We'd better go check you out." he insisted, ushering him into the elevator. He struggled all through the elevator ride and the long walk down the hall to Fox's dorm, but it did him no good. Most of the time he only suceeded in throwing them both off balance for a moment, or every now and then getting himself dropped on the floor. When this happened Hans simply picked him back up again. Once they got into the dorm he was laid down gently on a sofa. Fox brushed back his bangs and felt over his head through his hair, looking for any bumps. "Hm... that is strange, I don't feel anyhting wrong at all deary... but your breath smells horrible. You've been drinking, haven't you?"  
"None of your business!" he snapped. "I can do whatever I damn well please!"  
"Ah! Well... you don't have to get so nasty about it! You're completely drunken aren't you? I guess the least I can do is get you a breath mint for that smell." He got up and walked off, Long yelling obscenities after him. He tried to get up off the couch, but fell face first into the floor. "Ugh... why can't the room stay still?"  
"Oh dear! You've gone and dumped yourself on the floor again." Fox observed, picking him up and setting him back on the couch. "Do yourself a favor and suck on this breath mint." He tried tried to stick it in his mouth and Long bit down on his fingers and spit it back out on defiance. "Ack!"  
"Suck on this!" Long said, flipping him off.  
"How rude! I'm only trying to help you know!"  
"If you wanna help me then get me outta here!"  
"How about I help you take your clothes off instead?"  
"Ah! He's going to rape me! Somebody HELP!"  
"Well I won't if that's that way you're going to be about it. Still, I really wanted to do something nice for you for beating up that freak... Oh, I know! I'll give you a makeover!"  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"  
  
Alica reluctantly followed Stephen into his dorm and sat down on his couch. She had to admit that she was relieved to get away from Long for a bit, she hated it when he acted so conceited. _Someone ought to bring him down a peg or two before he hurts himself._ Then she and Stephen had a nice little chat. She truly enjoyed his company, impressed with his warm attitude and quick wit. It was nice to finally find someone at her own level of intelligence to converse with, and his optimism was a rare thing within the walls of Tylon. Talking with him was like a breath of fresh air to her, reminding her of happy times long since past. After awhile there was a disturbance somewhere on the floor above them. They heard all kinds of yelling and the thudding noises of something bumping around.   
Alica decided to go investigate, figuring that Long had probably been stubborn enough to ignore their good council and had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. She asked Stephen to come, but he declined, wisely choosing to stay out of whatever was going on. So Alica took the elevator up one floor and followed the noises around for awhile. She carefully tracked the sounds to a door and knocked on it loudly enough to be heard. She waited a few minutes and then knocked again, finally Fox came to the door.  
"What's going on in there?" Alica asked.  
"Oh, n-nothing really..." Hans began. Alica slid past him to peek on the room, and what she saw there made her sick. Long was tied down to a chair sitting in front of one of the room's many mirors and Fox had covered his face in makeup. His lips were colored a bright shade of red, and a pale cinnamon blush covered his cheeks. Mascara made his eyelashes look long and pretty while a light blue eyeshadow complimented his eyes. Hans had also taken his hair down and re-parted it on the side.   
"**HEEELP**!!!" Long screamed, recognizing her.   
"Oh my God..." she trailed off.  
"It's terrible, isn't it?" Fox asked. "He keeps moving, which ruins any neat and even application. I wanted to do eye and lip liner too, but he just won't hold still!" Alica showed him aside, warped one of her fingers into a claw and slashed away the sashes and ribbons binding him to the chair. "Ah, my lovely sashes!" Hans cried out in terror at having his things destroyed. Long fell to the ground.  
"Come on Long," she said, walking back to the door. "let's get out of here." He stumbled around a bit before finally getting to his feet, but then he fell right back down again.  
"I tried to get up, but the room is spinning! Please, Alica... make it stop!"  
"This is the last time I save you from Hans." she grumbled, helping him to his feet almost reluctantly. He leaned on her heavilly as she lead him out the door. 


	12. Flirting with Death

Hello, anyone getting sick of Hans yet?  
Fan#1: Yeah, will Long kill him now?  
Fan#2: Yeah, yeah! Let's kill him!  
But he can't die yet, he's got to stay alive at least untill I get to the part where BR1 happens.   
Both Fans: Aw...  
Hey, cheer up! Afterall death isn't the worst fate in the world right? ^_~ Anyway... let's just say that Van's not gonna be happy when he finds out what Fox has been saying about him and Long.**Flirting with Death** "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!!" he insisted, clenching his fists and stomping his feet in and unrestrained fury. "He put makeup on my face... AND MESSED WITH MY HAIR! FOR THIS HE MUST **DIE**!!!"  
"Now be reasonable Long." Alica chastized him. "You know what Van will do to your family if you kill him."  
"I DON'T CARE! I'll find a way, somehow... I'll find a way to blame his death on someone else, or maybe... I'll make it look like an accident! YES!"  
"Hate to burst your bubble dear, but that won't work. Van knows you want to kill him, no matter what you do it's only a matter of time before he finds you out and decides to force you back into submission again by killing someone you love. Besides, you're already going to be in trouble for beating up Busuzima as it is."  
"What?"  
"Busuzima. Don't you remember kicking his @$$?"   
"No."  
"He's the ugly guy with green hair. You sent him to the hospital, he's in the critical care unit because of you!"  
"I just remember drinking a couple beers after you left, and the next thing I remember after that is seeing this cylindrical brush, covered in black goop coming towards my eye!" He put his arms up over his face as though sheilding himself from the imaginary brush. "AH! THE HORROR!"  
"It's your own fault for wandering around the place in a drunken stupor you know."  
"How can you say that? It's not my fault that the local psycho bitch has a crush on me! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM! I'll spend the rest of the day planning exactly how to do it, and then, once night falls..."  
"What's with all the racket out here!?!" An angry voice down the hall demanded. Long and Alica turned around to see a sleepy-eyed Stephen glaring from behind his door. "I could've slept in for another hour or two, why did you have to wake me up?"  
"Sorry..." Alica apologized.   
"I am going to kill him you know." Long repeated.  
"Kill who?" Dr. Goldberg wondered.   
"Hans, Fox, that detestable psycho bitch upstairs and down the hall!"  
"What did he do this time?"  
"He tried to give me a makeover!"  
"Oh, I see... Well, I guess I don't blame you for killing him then."  
"Stephen!" Alica protested. "This is no time to joke!"  
"I'm not joking." he replied, seriously.  
"Do you know he threatened to help me take my clothes off!?!" #318 asked, demanding to know if that wasn't a good enough reason to kill him.  
"Ugh..." Stephen moaned.  
"That doesn't surprise me one bit." Alica stated.  
"Yet another reason why I should KILL HIM!!!" Long insisted.  
"I'm surprised he only threatened to take your clothes off and didn't actually do it." she said, wondering why he hadn't. "Don't you have any idea how lucky you are that he didn't-"  
"Exactly why I should kill him! NOW! Before he has another chance!"  
"Knock it off!" she commanded. "You are obsessed with killing Hans!"  
"Yes I am." he proudly admitted.  
"Look, will you just wait untill a little bit later? Then I'll play that tape I made and you can tell him what happened, I'm sure Van's going to want to punish him for all this."  
"Damn, you're right... I hate it when you're right!"  
"Me too, but as much as I'd like to see Hans dead it wouldn't be any good for you to get your family members all killed off because of it, now would it?"  
"No."  
"Exactly. Now let's get down to the assassin room before we're late and Van has to send Vark up here to find us."  
"Good, maybe I can go back to sleep." Stephen said hopefully.  
"Have a nice rest, Stephen." Alica wished.  
"I'll try." he replied, ducking back into his dorm and closing the door behind him.  
"What's with you two anyway?" Long asked.  
"What do you mean?" she asked.   
"Well you two were cuddling on the couch the other night, and now..."  
"We're just getting to know each other... you're not jealous by any chance are you?"  
"What? Jealous!?! Ridiculous! There's nothing to be jealous of!"  
"Good, glad we cleared that up."  
"I know what this is, it's because of his optimism, isn't it? He's all bright and cheery while I'm constantly pissy and moody. He's got a good sense of humor and all I've got are a bunch of issues."  
"What are you talking about? Stephen and I are just friends, Long!"  
"And so were you and I." he slyly replied.   
"Are you so possessive that you feel your position is threatened if I so much as talk to another man?" she demanded. #318 was stunned at how right she was.  
"I'm not going to talk to you." he said, turning and running down the hall.   
"You're not going to run away from this one, get your @$$ back here!" she called, running after him. He ran all the way down the stairs. She assumed that he was going to the waiting room, since they had to meet there anyway, and took the elevator. She still didn't catch up to him though. By the time he got back he was sitting back in his chair, shooting angry glances around the room and then glaring at Fox in undisguised fury. She could tell that he intended to kill him, but not right now, there were too many witnesses. Greg and Bakuryu were there in their usual spots so she sat down on the couch, wondering what would happen next.   
Long looked at her for a minute, and then decided not to talk about anything while the others were there. He was already thinking about how he would kill Hans. He wanted to do it with his own hands of course. He wanted to feel himself crushing the other's bones as he died, but killing him that way would be too obvious. He wondered what he could do to make the death look like an accident. Some kind of poison maybe... and then he could fake a car accident. He tried to think of something better, but then he felt a sneeze coming on. He had almost forgotten he'd had a cold, he hadn't sneezed for quite some time. He had been holding it back, but it had all built up and could no longer be contained.  
"Uhhh...ehhhhh...AHHHH...**AH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**!" he sneezed so hard that he almost tipped his chair over. Everyone in the room stared at him in surprise, and when he tried to ask them why a soft roar came out of his mouth. He looked down at his fur covered arms in astonishment, and wiggled his clawed fingers. He had sneezed so hard that he'd morphed into his beast form without even realizing it. "Aw, how cute!" Fox said, petting his head as though he were a house cat.  
"GROOOOOWR!!!" he roared, baring his teeth.  
"Eeep!" Hans cried, nearly falling off his stool. Alica started laughing insanely as he got up from his seat, stomped on the ground, and morphed back to his human form. Greg and Bakuryu were still staring at him when he sat back down in his seat. Fox turned back to his vanity, ignoring everyone besides himself. Long resumed glaring at everyone as though they'd all done something to make him terribly angry, and after awhile Alica stopped laughing and everything went back to the way it had been before.  
All was silent when Van walked through the door. Tension filled the room, so thick he could almost feel it's unwelcome touch on his skin, or see it floating in the air. It made him as uneasy as a chill running down his spine, in spite of his usual resistance to such feelings. He glanced around the room, searching for the source of this discomfort. Bakuryu appeared as cool and confident as ever, silently waiting for his call to bring more death. Greg looked nervous as usual, possibly afraid he'd botch up another job. Alica looked a bit angry, and yet emotionally stricken somehow. A half smirk edged along his mouth as he focused on her, it was the kind of look he liked to see her wear, the kind that made him feel an undeniable sense of attraction for her. She made a point of ignoring his stare, waiting patiently untill he looked away. Long was obviously angry about something, sunken down into his chair and glaring at Hans with a look of pure hatred. The latter was sitting by his vanity, casually brushing through his bangs, seemingly unaware that anything was wrong.  
"Did I miss something here?" Van asked.  
"Several things." #318 muttered darkly. Alica sighed, realizing that this was her cue to bring out the tape and play it for Van. She completely despised him, and she hated him even more when he looked at her with that self-righteous smirk on his lips. She really couldn't put her finger on the reason it bothered her so very much, but somehow she sensed that something about it was wrong. She decided that she didn't want to have anything more to do with him that day. _But then, I have to play the tape for him eventually anyways, don't I? Doesn't he deserve to know what's going on behind his back? Hell no! Whatever made me think that? But I would like to see the look on his face when he hears what Fox has been saying about him and Long..._ She changed her mind and took the little tape recorder out of her pocket.   
With a self-righteous smirk of her own on her face she walked up to Van and handed it to him, then she stepped back and sat down in her seat. Van stared at the thing curiously for a moment, as though wondering why she would give him such a thing. _What could this tape possibly have on it that would be worth my time?_ he wondered. He glanced over at Alica for a moment and after noticing the smug look on her face, decided that it must be something important. When he turned back towards #318 he was staring at the tape with an expression so gleeful it was almost insane. Hans sat around twirling his hair, oblivious to it all. Van looked down wonderingly at the thing once more and then pushed the play button.  
"...and maybe stroking his ego a bit." The tape began with this solemn male voice, obviously Long, and then turned to Fox's high-pitched whine. "I bet that's not all of his you'll be stroking." Fox whirled around on his stool and gaped at the tape in horror, aware that he wasn't in trouble quite yet, but would be before the tape was over. The voice changed to Long's again, "Grrr... that does it!" Then they heard the sounds of movement and a slight struggle.  
"Who are they talking about?" Van asked.  
"You'll see." Long replied, grinning.  
Alica's voice came on the tape. "Long, don't! You remember what will happen if you kill Fox? Don't do it!" Long growled. "Listen, I'm taping this conversation as evidence of what he's been saying. I'm going to play the tape to Van. Then he'll be in a whole world of trouble, so let's just wait this out and see what happens, okay?" Long answered: "Alright Alica." and there were more sounds of movement as things settled down. "Well, if there's no work then I'm off." Greg's voice announced. "no reason to stick around here any longer, see you guys tomorrow." Then the sound of foot steps and a door being opened and shut. "Hm... I think I'll be leaving too." Bakuryu's voice agreed. Then the sound of a light explosion.   
"That's one thing I hate about those ninjas." Hans's voice commented. "It's really a shame there's no work today, I would love to find out what happens when Van calls you into that office of his!" Long came back on "Then I'll tell you... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! There, you satisfied?" Hans answered: "Of course not. You two were so obviously flirting back there, there's definately got to be a relationship. What will you say if Van asks you to f**k him I wonder?" Van's mouth gaped wide at the statement and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Fox looked completely petrified atop his stool, Alica started laughing so hard she though she'd cry, and #318 watched with a look of prideful satisfaction.  
"It's not going to happen." Alica's voice on the tape stated.  
"Indeed!" Van agreed, obviously insulted.  
"What if it did?" Hans's voice on the tape argued. Van glared at him and he cringed and nearly swallowed his adam's apple. "You wouldn't risk your job, your reputation, not to mention your dear family just for the sake if your own pride, would you? Don't tell me you'd have the gall to turn him down, Long." Back to Alica, "This question is irrelevant since it's not going to happen!" Then Long, "Que zhi bu gong.*"   
"What?" Van asked.  
"Just as I thought!" Fox's recorded voice cried. And then Alica asked: "What did you say, Long?" He replied: "It doesn't matter." And then Fox started up again. "Now all that remains to be decided is who's going to be uke and who's going to be seme!" Van glared at Hans again, getting very angry. The latter got so scared he fell backwards off his stool. "You are both so assertive, very seme in nature, but I think Van is even more agressive than you are! If you sumbit to Van then you would most obviously be uke... unless of course he decides to become sasoi uke... Ooo, I like the sound of that! Van, the vile master of seduction!"  
"WHAT!?!" Van yelled.  
"Translate to english, please?" Alica's recorded voice requested. Long answered: "You don't want to know." And then he groaned and Hans continued. "I can just imagine it now... Van requests that you accompany him to his personal quarters... and you agree, too afraid of his power to refuse! Once inside he crawls onto his bed and strips off his clothing piece by piece! Enticing you to join him atop the luschious cushions for-"  
"UGH!!!" Van cried, shutting off the tape.   
"You see? This is why he must DIE!!!" #318 insisted.   
"Yes, I am inclined to agree." A wicked grin spread across Long's face as he leapt from his chair towards the unlucky transvestite.   
"N-no! Please, Van! Oh, glorious, merciful, almighty leader... HELP!" Singh Long started to laugh gleefully as his fists punched into Hans, the pressure form the blows squashing him into his vanity. Van smiled evilly as he watched.  
"Knock it off you two, this isn't funny!" Alica demanded, rising from her seat. Van and Long turned to look at her for a minute while Hans slumped weakly to the floor.  
"Whatever should we stop for?" Van asked.  
"You need me!" Fox insisted, drawing his attention and unfortunately Long's as well. #318 reached down and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up untill his feet no longer touched the ground.  
"Long!" Alica yelled. He turned to glare at her, but didn't put him down.  
"Please, Van!" Hans whispered, barely able to talk. "You need me, you can't afford to lose another assassin! You can't replace me!" Long tightened his hold on his neck, cutting off his air supply as well as any other words.  
"Damn, he's right." Van reluctantly admitted. "Put him down Long." #318 growled in fury, throwing the Fox straight into the mirror of his vanity, the impact of his body smashing the glass. Then he turned away as Hans fell to the floor. "Tsk, tsk, such a temper." Singh Long stood there trying to control his anger. All that he could see had turned red, he could feel his heart beating against his chest, and the adrenaline rushing through his body. He was panting heavilly, and he clenched his fists so tightly with the effort to control himself that a little bit of blood trickled down the sides of his fingers. "You've already caused enough mischief for me these past few days, don't you think?"  
"Yes, Van." he replied obediently, his voice strained with the effort to contain himself. Tylon's leader then turned his gaze back to the beaten form of Fox.  
"And as for you... If I ever so much as hear about you saying such things again, I certainly won't stop anyone from killing you." Hans cringed in terror.  
"Thank you Van." Long replied, finally able to start calming down a bit. The red faded from his eyes and his heart beat started to slow down a bit. He sat back down in his chair trying to relax.   
"Don't thank me." Van replied, casting a cold glare in Fox's direction.  
"What did you come in here for anyway?" Alica asked. She was sitting down on the couch again, and wondering why Van had come in. She knew that Van wouldn't leave his office and make an appearance without a reason. Even stranger still was the fact that Vark, his personal gopher, was absent.   
"I came to announce that I'm going to take another day to re-work my schedule." he explained. "So many complications... anyway, you are all dismissed." That said, he walked towards the door.  
"Wait, Van..." Long requested. He couldn't believe there wouldn't be any work for him that day. He hated to think what might happen if he had the day to himself again.  
"Yes?"  
"You have nothing in the way of assignments?"  
"No, I'm afraid not. Anxious to get back to work are you? Don't worry I'm sure this will all be done by tomorrow." After he was done Van walked out the door, #318 staring after him with a dissapointed look on his face. Greg and Bakuryu left almost just as quickly, but Fox sat around at his vanity finishing his hair.   
"You were really going to kill him, weren't you?" Alica asked Long. He groaned in annoyance and shook his head a bit, refusing to verbally answer her question. Then he climbed out of his seat and left the room, with her following closesly behind him. "I don't understand you. I mean, I know you were pissed, by why kill if it's unnecessary? He only put a little makeup on you afterall, and you're going to kill him for it? Why add to your guilt over all the kill's you've commited when no one's forcing you to?"  
"It would be a pleasure to kill him." the top assassin replied. "Besides, I really don't think I would feel guilty about it."  
"Now you're just lying to yourself."  
"You're right, as usual. Perhaps I would feel a bit guilty... but let me ask you this: What is worse? To have to put up with his constant teasing and flirting, or to just kill him and get it over with?"  
"How can you be serious about this!?!"  
"I'm not like you, Alica. I've lost any reguard I ever may have had for the worth of human life. And today hasn't changed my mind. One day I will kill him." She stopped in her tracks and just stood and watched him as he dissapeared down the hall. That was one thing she didn't understand about him, and refused to accept. Has his anger blinded him to the consequences of his actions? Does he really put so little value on the life of another human being? It was plain that he did. Still she wished that she could find something about him, some redeeming quality, that would prove that there was still a shred of humanity inside him. Otherwise he was like any of the other assassins, a cold-hearted killer, barren of any emotion. She didn't want to believe that about him, perhaps because she didn't want to believe that it would happen later to herself. She was searching for a reason to hope that she could survive. 


	13. While the Cat's Away

Alright, here you go, a nice long chapter for you. *smiles* Anyway, consider yourself forewarned, there will be much dialogue. Alica helped me with this chapter... well, bascially we did a little RPing and much of the dialogue in this chapter is the result. I'm so happy I get to work with Alica. ^_^ And for all you homophobes out there, don't worry. Fox will not actually be appearing in this chapter, although he is mentioned a few times...

**While the Cat's Away**

Singh Long walked past the elevator and straight to the parking lot, ignoring the fact that he shouldn't be out. There were several very good reasons he ought to stay in the building, he knew. He couldn't help but be reminded everytime he blew his nose that he had a cold and was probably still contagious. Not to mention that he was in an irriatable mood and very likely to kill anyone who might bother him, or at least snap at them. As soon as he got out to the parking lot and into the sunlight he was reminded that people were looking for him. But at the moment he didn't care, he needed an escape. He jumped into his car, daring to hope that the police didn't have his license plate number after all.   
He drove haphazardly around the city, purposely avoiding the main streets in favor of back streets and alleyways. He didn't care where he was going, as long as he was going somewhere, anywhere away from the place he had come form. Afterawhile he realized that what he was doing was ridiculous. _Why am I running away from anyway? A building? That's not what I'm really running from. _What he was really running from was himself, although he was too proud to admit it. Eventually he became frustrated with driving all over the place and going nowhere, so he parked his car, got out and walked. It didn't solve any of his problems of course, and he still didn't know where he was going. However, the physical excersize did help him calm down a little. _If only I had some work,_ he thought. He desperately needed something, anything to distract his attention. Anything to keep him from thinking about who he was.   
It had hurt ever since he could remember. From the first kill over seven years ago to the one he'd made only days ago. Usually he could cloud it out of his mind, keeping himself busy with other thoughts. It was the inactivity that killed him, the lack of something to pre-occupy his mind. He guessed that was what he was searching for something to distract him. He thought that if only he could find something to keep him busy he would be alright. He didn't want to realize it, but what he was really searching for was someone to kill. It was the first thing that came to his mind, and it was his profession afterall. It was what he usually used to make himself forget who he was. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure himself out.  
_Now let me see... killing people causes me severe emotional pain. I cannot stand that pain, so I ignore it. I ignore it by concentrating on other things, like my work. But isn't that what's causing the whole damn thing in the first place? Am I not right back where I started with this?_ It was an inescapable circle, one that he knew would either claim his life or his sanity one day, or possibly both. He hated to admit it, but there was nothing he could do to change it. There was no other way to keep himself sane except to keep killing. Continuing the work only dug him deeper into the hole. But he couldn't stop, because if he did then others would die. _Damn, I'm permanently f**ked._ He kept on telling himself that he just had to wait, and it would all be over soon. But the real question was, would it be over soon enough?  
For the first time since he left he stopped and looked at his surrondings. They were familiar to him, but he was not surprised. Then he realized that he had known where he was going all along, but like so many things he had hidden it from himself, afraid that admitting to the truth would cause him too much pain. Now there was nothing left to do but face it. He was standing right next the the house of the man he'd killed two nights ago, looking across the street at the house of the woman who'd seen him. And then he forced himself to admit that he was going to kill her. Not out of some forcefull threat or the responsibility he felt to protect the ones he loved, but because he had a desire to kill, and she was in his way.  
  
After shaking her head in disgust she went after him. She didn't expect to catch up to him at first, since her little stop to think had given him quite a head start. But by the time she was walking down the hallyway towards his dorm she wondered why she hadn't caught up with him yet. She went up to it and knocked, expecting him to answer right away. She let a few minutes pass, knocked again, and then started to wonder what could possibly be keeping him. She supposed he could be in there taking a shower, but she didn't hear the water running. He could be napping, but her knocking would wake him up, it had before. If he was in there, he was simply ignoring her. _And he knows better than to go out while the police are looking for him, right?_ She shrugged and walked back to her dorm, expecting that she'd find him around later.   
She went in and sat down on her couch, turning the TV on. Unlike him she was very glad to be rid of her work for a time. She really didn't understand what made him so anxious about not having any work to do. Afterall it was the killing that was the start of both of their problems, right? So it was a good thing to have a break from it, even a short one. She sat back and relaxed for awhile, letting the programs take her mind off things. Before long she got bored and turned it off, not sure what she was going to do with the rest of the day. So she walked back over to Long's dorm and tried again, but he still didn't answer. _Either he's gone or he's avoiding me on purpose._ He didn't seem like the type to ignore her however, so she decided that he must be gone afterall. _But where could he have gone to?_  
The first thing that came to her mind was the night before, how he'd run around the place drunken and gotten himself into trouble. _And he's still go plenty of beer in there to get himself drunk off of too... I'd better check around the building for him._ The first place she went was to Fox's dorm, but thankfully he wasn't there. _Hope you're not out killing anyone, Long. _she thought. She searched around the rest of the building, pausing before the main laboratory. Lab #666, where all of Busuzima's nasty little 'live experiments' were done. She really didn't want to search this place, but she'd already covered most of the building, and it could be very likely that he'd return here again. The door to the lab was locked in Busuzima's absence of course. So Long couldn't be in there. However she was curious about what could be in that lab, and since she had been a delivery worker she had the key.  
Van didn't know of this of course, or he certainly would've taken it back once he made her an assassin. However, it did mean that she could sneak around in the lab without being detected. She figured she had nothing better to do, and certainly wouldn't get caught. So why not sneak around the lab and see what her half-borther was really up to? She pushed the key card into it's slot and punched a code on the keypad. The door opened immediately and she walked cautiously inside, checking the room to make sure no one was there. The first thing she came to was a large room with long rectangular table in it's center. It was covered with test tubes and vials full of all kinds of chemicals. A few were familiar, things she had delivered to the room in the past, and some were new. She glanced at it for a minute, and then walked on past.   
There were many doors in the back of the room, most leading to 'examination' rooms, otherwise known as the rooms the experiments were done in. She looked through a few of the small glass windows and was appalled at the bloody mess she saw in one of the rooms. _I bet he hasn't cleaned that since he got here,_ she thought. None of these rooms were clean, although most weren't as soaked in gore as the first one she'd seen. She wondered what could have possibly happened in that room, and then decided that she really didn't want to find out. One door in the middle of the wall lead to another hallway, so she opened it and walked in.   
The hallway was lined with more doors, she walked over to peek into one of them and saw a dark room, a small tortured figure hiding in one corner. Immediately she worked the locks free, opened the door, and hurried inside. As she got closer she could see that it was a young man. He was thin and straggly looking, and smelled as though he'd been kept in there for weeks with no chance to shower, and he probably had. Immediately she pitied him, and decided that she had to do something to help. She walked right up to him, and he glanced up at her with a look of despair in his eyes, as though wondering what torturous experiment she had come to take him to next.   
"Don't worry." she said. "I'm gonna get you out of here." She took his hand and helped him climb shakilly to his feet, already thinking of the best way to get him out of the building without being detected. The only way she knew of was to go around the the building's back exit. It was a risky route, and if they took it they would likely be seen by someone. She didn't want to chance that, but she had to do something. He lead him out of the room and looked at the other doors down the hall, wondering how many of them also contained the tortured souls of Busuzima's experiments. She peeked into the cell across from the one she'd just left and saw someone in it, so she opened the door. She did the same for all the doors down the hall, untill she got to the end of it. The door there had no windows, so she opened it cautiously, and caught the scent of clean air, it was an exit.  
_Perfect!_ she thought. _This must be the place where they bring all these people in, bet they never thought they'd get out the same way._ She looked behind her at the people cautiously creeping out of their cells, looking around warilly. They were all dirty and bedraggled, and many of them had blood smeared over their bodies, and wounds that were left unbandaged. _There are animals who get better treatment, _she thought. Most of them seemed like ordinary people, but she could definately sense at least a few zoanthropes. One of them even had a furry, clawed hand. She didn't sense that he was a zoanthrope however, the claws were permanent, a side-effect of one of Busuzima's experiments. She held the door wide open, and watched as their faces lit up at the sight of the ouside world. She stood there and looked on as they all ran off into the world, overjoyed to have their freedom.  
After she watched them all dissapear into the city she closed up all the doors, making it look as though nothing had happened. She left the lab, and locked the door behind her, snickering a bit a the thought of what would happen when Busuzima came back. _They won't know what hit 'em,_ she thought. She snuck back up to her room, pausing at her door for a moment. _Nothing to do in there... she thought. And I won't even try knocking on Stephen's door. I wonder if Long's back yet._ She walked over to his door and was surprised to hear a low hissing sound. _Maybe he has some water boiling for his tea?_ She decided that it didn't really matter, as long as he was there. She knocked on the door and waited a bit, but there was no answer, so she knocked again.  
"Long? You there?"  
"I'm not home right now." his solemn voice replied. "Please go away." He really didn't want any company, not after what he'd just done. He wanted to be left alone, but then again being alone wasn't any better. Still he was afraid of the kind of killer he was becoming, and even more afraid of what other people would think if they knew about it, especially Alica.  
"If you're not home then why did you reply to me?"  
"I don't know..." he sighed in exaspertation. "I give up."  
"What? Do you have some 'company' in there you don't want me to know about?"  
"What? What company!?! I have none!"  
"Chill, chill! It was a joke!"  
"Don't scare me like that!"  
"Can we not talk through the door?" she pleaded. "You know, like, face to face?"  
"Alright..." he reluctantly agreed, opening the door. "Come in and sit on the couch." She jumped into him and threw her arms around him. "Ai!" he cired, falling to the floor. "Are you lonely or something?"  
"Well I have been looking for you all day... where did you run off to anyway?"  
"Nowhere important," he replied, eyeing her curiously. "I just needed to get out." She smiled at him as she unwrapped her arms from his body and stood up.   
"And I admit I ate a bunch of peeps this morning. Love those things." she smiled and then walked over to the couch and laid down. "But the sugar's starting to get to me."  
"No wonder..." he muttered, getting up and walking back over to sit down in his chair. "Would you like some tea? It always calms me down."  
"Sure." she replied. He got up and went into the kitchen, taking the whistling kettle off the stove and pouring a few cups. "A lot happened while you were were out last night you know."  
"Oh?"  
"After I dragged you back to your room Van, Hans, and I had a little chat about all the trouble you caused. Fox told Van about how you beat up Busuzima and I told him about what Hans did to you." She stopped to snicker a bit. "Van didn't know whether to punish you or pity you after that... which is why I think he just let the matter drop earlier today. Most people wouldn't get away without at least a good beating after what you did."  
"I guess I should consider myself fortunate." Long replied, steeping the tea in the cups and adding a little sugar.  
"After that he said he was thinking about taking a vacation to some island like Tahiti or something... and before I found you Stephen told me he's got some week-long conference to go to." She glanced up at the clock. "They're probably both gone already. If it weren't for you I'd be left here all alone with the freaks."  
"What's Van running off for?" he asked, obviously upset. "I thought he was going to give us work tomorrow." He finished making the tea and set one cup down in front of her on the coffe table and took one to his chair.  
"I don't think there is any." she replied, absently. "You know all the people we killed a couple days ago? Before you got here it would've taken the four of us weeks to do that work. That's why his scedule is all messed up. Did you notice that Vark wasn't with him this morning? I bet she's sitting around fixing up his schedule, he thinks he's too high and mighty to do it himself. He's been planning this vacation for months... He was actually planning it a little later of course, but since there's nothing better to do... I bet he won't be here come tomorrow morning. Vark will come in and announce that he's gone and then we'll all be dismissed for about three weeks while he takes his vacation."  
"Three weeks!?!" Long cried. "Ai ya! What am I going to do with myself without work for three weeks!?!"  
"You sound upset, aren't you glad Van's gone? It means he can't keep an eye on us, if you catch my drift."   
"True, true..." he replied, nodding. "I hate how he always seems to be looming about when he's here."  
"Does my brother creep you out too?"  
"Van? Sometimes..."  
"Yeah, him and the camera freak." He didn't know what she meant by 'the camera freak' but he decided that since she mentioned it so casually it was something he was supposed to know about already, so he pretended he understood.  
"Not to mention Hans."   
"There's some pervert who keeps putting a mini-camera in my shower." she volunteered, needing to talk about it with someone.   
"Yikes!"   
"Yes." she agreed. "And it's been re-installed three times. Everytime I take it out someone puts it back."  
"I sure hope no one's doing that to me... next time I'll check my bathroom before I shower."  
"It's unlikely. I've asked around a bit, and it seems it's just myself."  
"Have you ever thought it might be Stephen?" Long suggested, snickering.  
"Maybe..." she mumbled, blinking in surprise. "But it's been going on since before he got here."  
"Damn, that rules him out... I could see it being Busuzima, but then it would probably be happening to several people."  
"It was actually happening before he got here too..." Alica admitted. "Ever since Van took over actually."  
"Really? Hm... very suspicious." He took a sip of his tea, mulling over it for a moment. The very thought of Van doing something like that to her made chills go up his spine. "If that's been happening since he's been in charge... What if Fox is right about him liking you?"  
"I'm his damn sister!" she protested. "He wouldn't be attracted to me."  
"I hope so..." he agreed. "Anyway, Van scares me."  
"Yes... he has his way with people, I'll admit."  
"I do hate how he has his way with me... but that is better than facing his wrath."  
"Hey man, it could be worse." she offered, trying to cheer him up. "He could have actually wanted to bed you."  
"Ugh..." Long groaned, making a face. "You don't think he'd ever want that, do you? The thought of it still scares me."  
"Hello no. He has an ex-wife, he's straight."  
"Oh really? I didn't know that."  
"Yeah, well... funny thing is, she died right after the divorce proceedings. So he got all her money."  
"Hm, I bet he had her killed... I didn't do it of course."  
"It was a car accident."  
"But those can be arranged... Van's just the kind of creep who would arrange one too, don't you think?"  
"Maybe..." she replied, thinking about it for a minute. "But he was nice enough to protect me, so I don't know."  
"You have a point." he agreed, sipping his tea. The room went silent again, both parties tired of talking and thinking about Van. Alica watched watched him with a somewhat lusty spark in her eyes. He didn't notice it at first, but he got a bit nervous once he did. He tried to ignore her for the most part, by sipping on his tea. Once he finished it he walked into the kitcken and poured himself another cup. He could feel her gaze on him as he crossed the room, and started getting even more uncomfortable. So he back back down in his chair and sipped his tea again. "So... uh..." She picked up her cup and tasted it for the first time.  
"What blend it this?"  
"It's Chai." he answered, happy to have somethign to talk about. "It's an oriental blend with spices, kind of a cinnamon-like taste, sort of like apple cider if you put a lot of sugar in it. This is my favorite."  
"It's good stuff. More flavorful than the coffe I usually drink."  
"Unfortunately it's also got quite a bit of caffine in it, since it's a black tea... maybe I should've given you something else."  
"Nah, it's okay." She assured him. "I think I'm calming down. I had a lot of nervous energy earlier so I'm tired."  
"I see..." he commented, shaking his head at her strange behavior.   
"Still have some though." she admitted, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at him and doing her best to smile seductively. He ignored her by sipping his tea again. "So... Hans hasn't given you any problems since this morning?"  
"I've done my best to avoid him. Hopefully one day he'll grow tired of having his life threatened."  
"Well that's good... though I cannot blame him for stalking you."  
"Oh?" he blinked, a bit surprised. "I really don't understand it myself... I'm trying to repel people from me, and yet they're still attracted. Nothing to be attracted to I think." He closed the statement by taking another comforting sip of his tea. Alica looked as though she would disagree with him, so he interrupted her before she could. "So, how is the tea?"  
"It's very good."  
"Glad you like it."  
"Long, you're hot."  
"Uh..." he blushed deeply, very embarassed. He shrunk back in his chair in a vain effort to escape her admiring gaze. And then it struck him that she had just given him a compliment and he really ought to thank her for it. "Thank you." She smirked at the comment, somehow even more attracted to him despite his obvious anxiety. He brushed through his bangs nervously and looked away, hoping she would do the same. She kept looking at him, and her smirk turned into a smile, so he took another sip of tea to calm his nerves. She smiled again.  
"Well, I doubt he could have stood your personality for long."  
"What makes you think so?" Long wondered out loud. "It could be because I hate him... or maybe I'm just too much for him to handle..." Nasty mental images entered his mind. "Ugh, bad choice of words." He frowned, upset with how his anxiety was making him see the worst in everything he said.  
"Just from knowing him." Alica replied. "He wants things easy, you are very frustrating."  
"Good."  
"He'd probably rip his hair out with you."  
"Hehehe... I'd like to see that... not badly enough to be with him though. And what is this obsession he has with making me look feminine? I swear it drives me up the wall. If he ever tries to put makeup on me again I swear I WILL kill him."  
"Come, come, let's not dwell on the past." she persuaded, becoming very tired of hearing Long talk about killing Hans, or killing anyone for that matter.  
"Alright, best not to think about that psycho bitch anyway." he agreed, taking another sip of his tea. "What would you like to talk about?" She laughed a little.  
"I don't know really."  
"Well, anything besides Hans or Van I suppose..."  
"Hm... listen to any music?"  
"Not much, you know how dull I am. Don't do much besides plotting the deaths of my next victims each day..." It was true, which surprised him. Usually he wouldn't admit to something like that, or anything else he considered to be the least bit personal. He realized then that he was getting closer to Alica, and he wanted to share a part of himself with her. But the question was, how much was too much? And how close was too close? He wanted a friend more than anything, but he was still afraid to trust her and open up.   
"Well, you have three weeks off now." she reminded him. He sighed, his face lined with worry.  
"I think it's going to drive me insane if I don't get back to work soon."  
"You could always find... other... activities." she replied slyly, looking up into his eyes.   
"What do you mean by that?"   
"I dunno." she shrugged. "Maybe find a girlfriend, take up a hobby, etcetra."  
"You're the only woman I know..." he mused. "and my only hobby so far is killing..."  
"Well thats a tick under one of the clumons then isn't it?"  
"What?" he asked. She sighed, a bit annoyed.  
"What I mean is, you at least know a girl so thats one tick under the girlfirend category, since you have no hobbies."  
"Oh..." he muttered, feeling nervous again. Her implications were obvious to him, but he wasn't ready to face them. So he just ignored it. "Well, I suppose I could find a hobby, athough I really don't have the slightest idea what it might be." _He didn't get it._ Alica thought, snorting in disgust. _Damn._ "Alica? You look somewhat peeved."  
"It's time to ditch the subtlety." she muttered, getting up from the couch. She walked over to him and punched him lightly in the knee with a smirk, and then changed her mind and pounced on top of him.   
"Hey!" he cried, blocking himself as though he was afraid she'd punch him again. "Alica? What are you doing?"  
"Haven't you ever flirted with someone?" she demanded.  
"Uh...no." he admitted. She groaned in annoyance, and he put his arms down and noticed the look. "I'm sorry... I have no... uh... experience with this kind of social behavior."  
"Well, you just need someone to show you then."   
"I... uh... suppose... Is flirting supposed to include pouncing on someone?"  
"No... I admit I kinda jumped the gun a bit on that."  
"So... uh... what is there to know about it then?"  
"Well, alot of it is really body language. There's a fine difference between 'I think your cute.' and 'Come near me and die.'"  
"Yes, one that Hans doesn't seem to understand..." she looked a bit annoyed. "uh, sorry for mentioning him."  
"It's alright."  
"I thought it was a good example of what you were talking about."  
"No, I understood. Relax." She smiled at him, assuring him that everything was fine.  
"Alright." he replied, smiling back at her and trying to relax a bit. "Um... are you going to get off me now, or...?"  
"Am I hurting you?"  
"No... I am a bit uncomfortable though..."  
"Ahh..." she fidgeted around on top of him, making sure her elbows and knees weren't digging into him.   
"Thank you... I am unacustomed to being pounced on."  
"That's alright." she replied, smiling up at him again. "There's a first time for everything."  
"I suppose so... uh... where were we?"  
"See, now if your in a situation like this..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces a little closer. "its serious."  
"I see..." he mumbled, gulping nervously. "Alica, uh... maybe we shouldn't... um... what if Van were to find out...?"  
"He's in Tahiti, remember?"  
"I know... I... I guess I'm just scared of him. He did threaten to kill my family you know. Never mind, forget about Van. He's not worth thinking about anyway..."  
"Trust me, I've been to the island he goes to."  
"Alright. I trust you." They shared a smile.  
"So... this is flirting, hm? Strange..."  
"Well this is kinda actually the next step beyond flirting."  
"Oh... so, flirting is just the talking and the... uh... body language then?" She nodded. "And right now we are... uh...?" She blinked in surprise.  
"Well..."   
"Never mind..."  
"No, this is just relaxing together. I think it's called cuddling or something."  
"Oh, alright."  
"Yes, from here one could progress to making out..." she stated matter-of-factly, as though she were teaching a student, "and/or eventually to sex."  
"Now you're making me nervous..." he mumbled, eyes widened in shock at her words.  
"Relax! Thats an option, progression."  
"Right... just an option..." he sighed, trying to relax. She snuggled against him and sighed in content.  
"You're comfy."   
"I... uh... as comfy as I'm going to be I guess..." he muttered. She looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. "Uh... I'm sorry if my nervousness bothers you..."  
"It's not a problem." she replied with a smirk. "I can see where it comes form. Just try to relax yourself and think of something positive."  
"Alright..." he took several deep breaths, which helped him relax a little. "It's just my inexperience I guess... It feels clumsy trying somthing for the first time."  
"I understand." She nodded and rubbed his shoulders a little, trying to massage the tense feelings away.  
"Thank you... that helps a bit." She smiled, glad she could help  
"This is rather new for me too..." she admitted with a sigh. "Van keeps scaring everyone away."  
"Can't say that I blame them. Wouldn't want to have to stand up to Van myself. For some strange reason I get the feeling that I couldn't kill him, isn't that odd? Afterall he's just a scrawny little thing."  
"Size isn't everything. He knows exactly how to get what he wants form anyone he wants. He's so damn stiffleing! Though physically, well... I dunno. I really wish he'd just butt out of my life."  
"I wish I didn't have to put up with him either..." She nodded and rested her head on his chest. He brought one hand up to hold it there, and ran his fingers through her bangs. "Van is an ass hole."  
"Agreed, just wish he would bite it already."  
"Me too... maybe we should try and plan a way to kill him hm? Somehow I doubt it would suceed though. We could get into a lot of trouble that way."  
"I've honestly tried."  
"Really? And no sucess yet? Damn, he's a stubborn little son of bitch isn't he?"  
"I like it when you talk like that..." he smiled and shook his head.  
"So... you like it when I get homicidal?" the smile turned sad and a melancholy sigh escaped his lips. "Better then being scared of him I guess..."  
"It adds a nice spice to things to know that there is some fire underneath your calm exterior." He hugged her close to him, just glad to have someone there. She pulled him in a little closer and smiled to herself. "Perhaps one day he'll bite it."  
"That'll be the day."  
"Indeed, though I'm sure he could use some help."  
"Yeah... there's got to be some way to kill him, ne? Wish I knew what it was."  
"I tried poisoning him... Vark ate the food by mistake." Long laughed a little and she continued, "Then I tried to take out the tries off his limo and he used the other one."   
"Figures." Long complained. "Well, I'm sure that one day his luck will run out..."  
"It's karma. He's building up so much bad it'll have to kick in sooner or later."  
"Ah, I see. Well in that case I hope it builds up very quickly for him."  
"No kidding." #318 snickered at the thought. "We could always plot new ways, I think we would make a very capable team."  
"Very true. We may not be able to kill him, but that's no reason not to try, right?" She nuzzled into his neck, and he cuddled her back, gently stroking her cheek with his hand.  
"I agree whole-heartedly."   
"The world would be a better place without him in it."  
"I know... it was his idea to start thsoe exeriments after all."  
"His idea, hm? Somehow that doesn't surprise me in the least."  
"What experiments that my father did, he got their consent for."  
"I see... he wasn't such a bad man then? Not as bad as Van anyway."  
"No. I don't know why Van got so messed up."  
"I don't think I'd want to know..."  
"Neither would I. He used to be nasty to me too." she frowned at the memory.  
"In what way?"  
"Kept calling me an undeserving half breed and such."  
"Ass hole."  
"Then a little before my father died his tune just... changed."  
"Strange... maybe he pities you for being framed for your father's murder?"  
"I don't know. I never understood him."  
"I'm beginning to think that I don't either. Who wants to understand him anyway? Not me." He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her closer. "He can take a one-way trip to hell for all I care... He belongs there." He hugged him tightly, thankfull that she finally had someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't be frightened off by Van, at least, not easilly. She looked up inot his eyes for a moment and he looked back and smiled. She reached one hand up to gently stroke his face and he held it there, finding an unusual sense of comfort in her touch. He looked into her eyes and she smiled up at him, then he bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek. Then he realized what he was doing and got nervous again. He pulled away and started blushing fiercely, despite his efforts to control it.  
"Sorry... uh... was that too much?"  
"No, not at all." Alica replied, offering a reassuring smile. He tried to smile back and ended up with a weak half-smile. Her smile broadened at noticing his efforts, and then finally his did to. She sighed in contentment. "This is nice.. I hope Van gets stuck on f**king Tahiti!" 


	14. A Sense of Confusion

**A Sense of Confusion** "Yeah..." Long agreed, laughing at her words although he seriously doubted that they'd be lucky enough that Van would get stuck on the island. Eventually he would be back, even if it wasn't right away. He he held Alica close and wondered at the circumstances that had brought them there. Van taking off all of a sudden, Stephen going on some conference, it all seemed just a bit too convenient the way they'd simply left. He knew better than to doubt Alica's word on the matter, but it was still too good to be true. In any case he doubted it would last very long. "But eventually Stephen will be back. I don't think I'll be able to look him in the face."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I, uh... thought you two had something going on..." he replied, thinking back to the other day when they'd been drinking. He supposed that it wasn't her fault that Stephen had happened to be the closest on hand to comfort her at the time. Long had felt a bit jealous, but it had been own own decision to sit up in his chair while they took the couch. "but maybe I was just jumping to a conclusion for no good reason?" she nodded. "I guess I was getting a bit jealous of the attention you gave him."  
"Ah, I see."  
"I know I can be a pain in the @$$ somtimes..."  
"No, I can understand where you got it from... but really, we're nothing more then friends, and I take whatever friends I can get in this hell hole."  
"I'm a bit reluctant to make friends myself..." he explained. "Hesitant to trust people I guess."  
"I can't blame you. Some people simply take longer, that's all."  
"Nothing I can do about it I guess." Alica nodded and he cuddled her a bit, she sighed happily.  
"Its been a while since I've had the chance to do this."  
"I've never really been this close to anyone outside my family before. I'm not really this close with them anymore either." she nodded in agreement.  
"My father kept me to busy to have any real boyfriends."  
"I was always shy to begin with, and after I became an assassin I was too busy."  
"Now though perhaps that could change."   
"Maybe..." he mumbled, starting to get confused. _Didn't she just say that we're nothing more than friends? But now we're back at the boyfriend thing again... _  
"I'd like that."  
"I think I would too." Long admitted, smiling down at her. He liked being close to her, but at the same time he was afraid of it. And still afraid of Van. What would happen once her half-brother returned? Alica nodded and looked into his face, and he hugged her close and sighed contentedly. He decided he could forget about Van, if only for a little while. She slid one hand up to his collar and opened his shirt a little, laying her hand on his chest and feeling his pulse. He blinked and gasped, shocked by the touch of her fingers against his bare skin. Then reached up and covered her hand with his own, glancing down at it and wondering why it felt so good there. He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling, and leaned back in his chair.  
"You gonna fall asleep now?" she wondered.  
"Not unless you want me to..." he replied, smiling.  
"I don't mind, I'm kinda coming down off of my high myself, and this is very comfy."  
"Yes it is." he agreed. She nuzzled against him and closed her eyes, and he wrapped one arm around her and sighed happily. He could already feel his conscious fading, so he fell asleep on the chair, with her in his arms. They slept through most of the night that way, with very little tossing or turning. (There wasn't any room for it in any case.) And they both slept fairly well. They were comforted by each other's presence, conscious of the fact that in the cruel world they lived in, they were no longer alone. Long awoke first the next morning, to the soft glow of morning light pouring through a window behind him. At first he wondered where he was, and the realized that she was still laying on top of him and they had never left the chair.   
He looked down into her face, and reached one hand up to play with her bangs, gently brushing them out of her face. He couldn't help but wonder how he really felt about her. He felt her hand, still resting on the skin just below his neck. It made him a bit uneasy, so he gently moved it away and buttoned the collar back up, instantly feeling relieved. He genuinely enjoyed the time they'd spent together, but somehow he was still uncertain about how close to her he really wanted to be. _With any luck, perhaps it won't go any farther than this,_ he thought. He couldn't help but wonder what Alica really wanted from him. He wanted to please her, but at the same time he didn't want to make himself uncomfortable. However, he was also painfully aware that just about any form of human touch usually made him feel that way.  
She stirred a bit in her sleep, probably getting ready to wake up. He lied still, reluctant to wake her just yet. He wanted to reason out his feelings for her first, but somehow he was unable to grasp their meaning. He didn't know what he was looking for at all. Which feeling meant romantic love and which meant simple platonic companionship? He had no basis for comparison, no system to help him define them and sort them out. He lacked any experience with them or knowledge of them, which was why he usually tried to avoid them at all costs. He looked down her her once more, so helpless in his arms. He could crush her life with one blow. Obviously, she trusted him, which was so much more than anyone had ever given him before.  
"Jing, wu qin.*" He said, bending down to kiss her forehead.  
"Huh?" she asked sleepilly, rubbing her eyes.  
"You fell asleep on me you know." She blinked in surprise and looked around the room a bit before looking back up at him and smiling.  
"Oh. Good morning."  
"Good morning."  
"Hm... what time is it?"  
"I have no idea. No room for a wrist watch with these weights on..." he looked up at his wall clock. "Eh, around 8AM. You didn't have any meetings to be at, did you?"  
"Huh?" she asked, still a bit groggy. "Oh, no. Not at all." She stretched her limbs and yawned a bit. "I was just curious."  
"Well, if you'd let me up I could make us some tea... and maybe some breakfast. How does eggs and toast sound?"  
"I'm gunna run to my room realy quick to change and freshen up a little."  
"I probably ought to do that as well..." he agreed, hoping he hadn't gotten too sweaty during the night.  
"Heh... a shower couldn't really hurt for either of us, I suppose." he nodded in agreement. "Soo... meet back in 20 mins?"  
"Sure." he agreed, nodding. She nodded back and then climbed off him and walked out the door. The first thing he did was utter a huge yawn, and then he proceeded to stretch his arms and legs, arching his back out of the chair's seat. It helped relieve his tired and cramped muscles. _Won't do that again anytime soon..._ he thought. As much as he enjoyed the emotional comfort that her presence brought, the physical discomfort was annoying. _Maybe if we tried the bed, at least that would be more comfortable..._ When he realized the implications of what he was saying his eyes widened in surprise. _Um, no... Wouldn't want her getting the wrong idea. We're still just friends afterall... aren't we?_ It occurred to him that he ought to talk with her about it, just to make sure they were both assuming the same thing about their relationship.   
That might be a difficult thing though, since he suspected that she wanted to take things a little farther than he did. He couldn't be sure of course, her words and actions confused him completely. So he didn't know what she really wanted from him, but it seemed like what she wanted was more than friendship. Then he supposed that it didn't really matter so much what category they were put into, no one knew about them anyway. It wasn't the emotional feelings he had that bothered him so much. It was the fear of what might happen if she decided she wanted to take their physical relationship to the next level. He balked at even so much as the thought of it. He tried to figure out why it scared him so, maybe because he was such a loner in the first place. He felt nervous about any kind of human contact, but especially that kind.  
He got up off his chair, deciding that he'd thought quite enough on that subject for the moment. He reminded himself that he'd better hurry and get himself dressed since she would be returning to him shortly. It turned out that the twenty minutes she'd given him was more than enough. He had no trouble conserving time and could shower in five minutes. He went about the task of cleaning himself quickly and efficiently, disciplining himself against the urge to soak in the warm water and savor it's comfort. When he got out he checked himself in the mirror as he did everyday. He noted any sign of facial hair and carefully shaved it away since he would not permit it to ruin his customary clean-shaven look.   
When it was time to get dressed he selected a red shirt with golden trim and some black pants, both in the style of his usual formal Chinese attire. He paired them with gold and black hair ties and a golden belt across his waist. He even had red and black wrist and ankle weights to match the set, but decided not to wear them since it was unlikely he'd have any work that day. If anything could be said of his style of dress, it was that he looked sharper than a razor blade and finer then the most costly bottle of wine. Indeed he had his own individual style, a style that could neither be matched nor duplicated. He went into the kitchen and prepared some tea, and started cooking the eggs before he heard her knock on the door. When he answered it he saw that she had also chosen to dress primarilly in red and black that day. _Appropriate colors for our line of work._ he thought.   
"I'm back." she announced, smiling happilly just to be there.  
"Good," he said, nodding and motioning her in before closing the door. "I've got the tea ready, just started on the eggs. Go ahead and have a seat on the couch."  
"No prob." He walked into the kitchen to get her a cup of tea and handed it to her before going back to his cooking. She took a sip and recognized it as the same tea from the other night. "Good stuff."   
"I drink it all the time myself. If you get tired of it I've also got some apple juice and orange juice in here to go with breakfast."  
"Nah, if I need a change I'll just put a pinch of sugar it." She sat down on the couch and looked around the place a bit. It wasn't much different than it had been the first time she'd seen it. In fact there were no new decorations and it looked just as plain as usual. But someohow she'd gotten used to the look of the place and found it comforting. "Nice place."  
"Thank you..." Long replied "still a bit barren, but not bad. However I'm afraid I lack any kind of dining table at all, and I don't even have any TV trays, so we'll simply have to use the coffe table to eat off of. Hope you don't mind."  
"Not at all." She replied. He put a few pieces of bread into the toaster and checked on the eggs.  
"How many eggs do you want?"  
"Two are fine." He nodded and checked on them, deciding that they were done. The toast popped up momentarilly and he spread butter over it. Then he set up both their plates and set them on the coffe table along with the few pieces of flatware he owned. he had to go back into the kitchen to get his tea, and then he sat down beside her to eat. She seemed a bit surprised that the eggs were hard boiled and sitting up in little egg holders. "I was kinda expecting them to be scrambled or something." she explained.  
"That's just how I like it, does it bother you?"  
"They're fine." she replied, using her spoon to crack open the shell.   
"Alica... there was something I wanted to talk to you about."  
"Yes, what is it?"  
"Uh, well... I wanted to discuss our relationship. I've been a bit confused lately and I'm unsure of specifically what level it's at." She looked over at him and smiled at his efforts to keep calm about something he was obviously so nervous about. She waited for him to say something more, but instead he looked over at her as though searching for some kind of answer.  
"If you're trying to ask me to tell you what level it's at, then I don't know anymore than you do." He seemed dissapointed with the statement, it only confused him even more. "Don't you think we should both decide that?" she prompted. He considered it for a moment, while eating his eggs, and then nodded solemnly in agreement. "Well, like I said last night I think I would like it if we got together. I'm not really sure... but I want to play around with the thought for awhile. What do you think?"  
"Well... I suppose I like how things have been going lately. However, you must know that I have this unreasonable fear of physical intimacy." She couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. His use of formal words in an effort to distance himself from the subject was futile, and to her it was funny.  
"Hahahahaha... Yeah, I noticed."  
"You're laughing at me." he looked stricken.  
"I'm not laughing at you, Long... I'm laughing with you." she honestly insisted.  
"Then why am I not laughing?"  
"Because you have no sense of humor, you know that?"  
"I suppose..."  
"It would do you some good if you'd loosen up a bit, don't take life so seriously."  
"'...don't take life so seriously.' she says, as though I have a choice in the matter." he shook his head. "I cannot help it. As an assassin my life is dreary and I find none of it humorous."   
"I'm not asking you to turn psychotic like Fox and laugh while you're killing people. Just laugh at your own stupidity once in awhile. Or, since you never seem to do anything stupid, laugh at the stupidity of others."  
"Stupidity is not a laughable thing."  
"Bwahahahahah!"  
"There is nothing funny about that!"  
"Your so serious it's funny, heheheheh..."  
"I think you're losing it."  
"And I think- hehe- that you've been cooped up in this mad house too long, Long!"  
"Now stop that! My name is not humorous either!"  
"Yes it is! Mahahahah..."  
"How ridiculous."  
"I'm really sorry. He he... Can't help it!" Long shook his head in annoyance and ignored her in favor of finishing his breakfast. Eventually her laughter calmed down and she finished her breakfast off as well. Once they were both done he silently picked up their plates and took them into the kitchen for cleaning. "You're not mad at me are you?"  
"I'm not angry, although I'm seriously concerned about your mental condition."  
"Meh, it's under control."  
"I was trying to joke."  
"Oh... well you need to take that serious tone outta your voice if you're joking."  
"No, you're right. I have no sense of humor at all."  
"It's a shame. Intelligent people such as ourselves are often capable of a fine sense of humor, you just need to try and develope it."  
"I feel that such things are a waste of both time and effort."  
"You seriously need to chill. Maybe I'll take you out somewhere today. Wouldn't hurt you to have a little fun you know."  
"Fun, what is that?"  
"Mwahahahahah! There, you see! That was funny!"  
"I'm serious, I seem to have forgotten what it is."  
"Hahahahaha!"  
"I can't even remember the last time I went out somewhere and enjoyed it."  
"Stop, stop! Hehe... You're gunna make me bust a gut!"  
"I was only telling the truth."  
"You're hilarious!"  
"It's not funny, it's pathetic. I haven't even a trace of a social life."  
"Hahaha... Well, we'll just have to fix that then."   
"I don't know if I want that fixed. Besides, we have to go down to the freak room soon."  
"The meeting room?" Alica assumed. "What's the use? Van's not gonna be there."  
"I'd like to see the looks on the other assassin's faces when they find that out. Don't you think it would be amusing?"  
"You're amused by some of the strangest things, aren't you?" He smiled.  
"Are you coming?"  
"If you're going then there's no reason to sit around up here by myself." As soon as he was done washing their dishes they left his dorm and headed down to the waiting room. They got in a little later than the usual appointed time, and everyone else was already sitting around and waiting. There was a feeling of tension in the air, as there often was in this room. It was as though they'd interrupted some kind of argument. So they sat down in their usual places and glanced about the room, waiting for someone to break the silence. It didn't happen right away, which gave them all some time to think.  
For the first time since he'd come there Long wondered why his chair was situated where it was: catercorner to Fox's vanity. He wondered why it couldn't have been put across the room, or at least on the other side. He supposed that if it bothered him so much to be close to Hans that he could always go and sit on one of the couches like all the other people did. But the truth was that he was too stubborn to give up his recliner. And then he wondered why it was always left open for him. The others obviously had the chance to sit in it if they wished, although once he got there he would certainly order them out. Perhaps they already realized how possessive he was of his chair. If that was so and it was such an easy thing to figure out, then why couldn't Stephen have realized the same thing?  
"Hey, Long." Greg said, requesting his attention. #318 glanced over at him with a look of mild annoyance. "You can still turn into a tiger, right? Wanna join my circus?"  
"No, I do not." he replied coldly, looking away.  
"Oo, now you're in for it dear." Fox wanred. "He won't stop badgering you about it for weeks. You know that dumbass is so stupid that he doesn't even realize that he is a Zoanthrope himself?"  
"Somehow that does not surprise me." Long replied.  
"I had this great idea for a show, you could be the main attraction! C'mon whadda ya say!?!"  
"I said, no."  
"But just think about how the crowd would 'Ooo' and 'Ahhh' when you transform, you've gotta join my circus!" Singh Long grumbled a bit and seemed to pull something out of his pants pocket. With a quick flick of his wrist something metallic gleamed as it sailed through the air. It buried it's self in Greg's ridiculous top-hat, the impact so hard that it was knocked into the wall and pinned there. Once it was over everyone looked up to discover that the object was a throwing knife. Greg pulled it out of the wall and his hat and stared at the pointed tip in shock.  
"You see that point?" #318 asked.  
"Yes." Greg replied.  
"Ask me to join your circus one more time and one just like it will be buried several inches into that thick skull of yours. Get it? You will if you don't shut up, dumb@$$."  
"I get it." he replied, dropping the knife on the floor and scowling at the hole in his hat.  
"Not bad... for a beginner." Bakuryu commented. "But as a master ninja I've been throwing stars for years. I could kill with them."  
"I can kill with knives too." Long replied coldly. "In either case it works better than hairbrushes, hm?"  
"You're just jealous because I though of throwing things in this room first!" Fox claimed.  
"What an absurd notion." Singh Long said, chuckling. "To think that I would ever be jealous of you for _any_ reason is quite ridiculous." After that the room went silent for a moment, since no one cared to contest Long's last comment. Then Vark entered the room, walking into the center and couching to get everyone's attention.   
"Van has gone on vacation." she announced. "You are all dismissed for three weeks, except for #318."  
"Wo hooo!" Greg shouted. "A three week vacation, yeah!"  
"How dull." Bakuryu complained. "I shall simply have to find a few odd jobs to occupy my time."  
"Not a bad idea." Fox agreed. "I haven't had a decent kill in weeks. If only you'd never shown up!" he glared at Long for a moment. "What does Van want with you, anyway?"  
"Good question." Alica added, glancing over at Vark.  
"#318 is to meet me in Van's office in five-" she was interrupted by a ringing sound, and pulled a little cell phone out of her pocket. "Hello? Oh, Van! Yes, I was just telling them... You want me to what? Yes, of course..." She took the phone away from her ear and covered the speaker for a moment. Then she walked over to Long's chair and handed him the phone. "He wants to talk to you." she explained, shrugging. As soon as he took the phone she turned and left the room, as if sent on some errand. Singh Long cautiously lifted the phone to his ear.  
"Hello?"  
"Hello Long," Van's formal voice greeted over the phone. "got a little job for you in my absence."  
"Will it take up the entire three week period?"  
"Hm? Why do you ask?"  
"I was hoping to go back to China for a few of my things, I would only need a couple days."  
"Well... I think the only way I can let you do that is if you leave as soon as possible. I'll need you here during the last two weeks of my vacation."  
"May I ask what for?"  
"Certainly. Vark should be arriving with a folder full of information detailing the assignment any moment, but basically I need you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Vark will be there for the first week, but after that she's coming down here, so I need someone to watch over the building in my absence."  
"I would be honored to bear such a responsibility." #318 stated, stunned that he'd recieved such an important assignment. They waited silently for a minute untill Vark got back with the folder. He informed Van about it and gave the phone to Vark, at which point Van's voice became very loud while scolding her about having taken too long to get the folder. Long opened the folder up and studied it briefly before deciding that he'd need more time and the privacy of his dorm to finish. Finally Vark hung up the phone and Singh Long got up and headed for his dorm, Alica following afterward.  
"You're not gonna leave me alone with these freaks are you?"  
"Hm... Well he said I'd have to do it this week, I can't wait untill Stephen's back."  
"Ask Van to arrange for the stuff to be shipped to you then."  
"No." Long shook his head. "I must go, but if you would like to accompany me you could. You could come and meet my mother and sister if you like."  
"Alright." she agreed, seeing that there was no way she'd get him to stay. Besides which she convinced herself that it would be good to get away from the hellhole that was Tylon's main building, if only for a little while.   
  
*Awaken, my dear. 


	15. Father

Yes, I know, it took me awhile to get this one up. I've been pretty busy lately though, it's not my fault. Anyway, thanks again to all the wonderfull people who leave feedback. And to anyone to whom I promised an appearance of their character, that's gonna take awhile, sorry.**Father** "When are we leaving?"  
"As soon as the next flight I can get out of here. Probably in a day or two. We won't be there very long, just long enough to grab a few things and then leave." he explained. She nodded and followed by his side as they walked to the elevator. "Once I get up to my dorm I'd like to have some time alone to study my new assignment." she nodded her acceptance of it, even though she really didn't want to be left alone. The truth was that even though she didn't miss her half-brother at all, she did miss her new friend Stephen and was feeling really lonely and depressed. She didn't want to left to deal with those feelings by herself, she knew there was always a chance she'd get self-destructive. She wouldn't try to force the issue however, if he needed his private time then so be it.   
As they walked the sound of footsteps came up behind them. At first they both ignored it, since the building was fairly well populated for the most part. It could have been just about anyone. The footsteps got closer and closer, approaching in a calm, unhurried manner. Finally Long felt someone tapping on his shoulder and turned back to see who it was. Immediately a look of disgust registered on his face. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face the other, his lips curled up as though he were about to hiss or growl. Alica didn't notice untill he stopped, and then turned back to see a tall, dark-haired Asian man who somewhat resembled him.  
"Ni hao, Long." the man greeted  
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.  
"An ying gai yao ni tong yi.*"  
"Just answer me."  
"Shi na he ni zhi jing tai ba ba? Bao you ni bu chi?" the man shook his head in disaproval and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "An shi zher gei yi tong li you ni shi.* Now, will you introduce me to your friend?"   
"If you're quite finished..." Long grumbled. For her part Alica was relieved that the man seemed to speak some English, albeit with quite a strong accent. She didn't want to sit around listening to a conversation she coldn't even understand. "Alica, this is Lin Lei. Lin Lei, Alica. There, you satisfied?" Lin Lei offered his hand and Alica shook it.  
"He has such terrible manner, a shameless man. Does not know how to address his own father." she simply nodded in reply, anxious to get her hand out of his grasp. _So this is the father I've heard so much about,_ she thought. She immediately disliked him, despite the fact that she seldom judged people so quickly. His formal manner was cool and detached, but it seemed as though it were only a cover to hide some sort of inner animosity. He nodded and smiled at them politely.   
"What do you want?" Long asked, anxious to be rid of him.  
"Shame, shame... You disgrace the Shin family." Singh Long growled at the man and grabbed Alica's hand.   
"I'm not going to listen to another moment of this scolding!" he explained, turning around and hauling her down the hallway. He couldn't stand being in the other man's presence. "Who does he think he is anyway? Barging in here and ordering me around..." he grumbled, mostly just talking to himself to let his feelings out. Alica listened anyway, and sped up her pace to match his, so that she wasn't being dragged anymore. "He'll get what's coming to him one day."   
"Well, I guess can see now why you hate him so much." she offered. He stopped to look at her for a moment, and almost smiled. Then he heard his father's voice calling from behind and started off again, walking as fast as he could go without breaking into a run.   
"I do not wish to speak with him. Not ever." Long expounded. "He knows that I try to avoid him. That's why he sometimes sneaks up on me like that. Usually I can avoid him. Even when we're both at home we work different hours, I'm usually gone when he comes home and sleeping when he gets up and leaves. It's got to be really bad luck that Stephen came to work here right after I did. Unless he somehow arranged it..." Alica shrugged, she really didn't know if he could have any influence over such things. They got to the elevator and climbed in, watching Lin Lei walk slowly towards them as the doors closed. He didn't seem to be in a big hurry to catch up, but maybe he didn't have to. "And why isn't he gone to that conference with Stephen then? Is it just for doctors?"  
"I think it is."   
"Damn." he cursed. "That clinches it, I'm getting out of here as soon as possible. I'm sure not hanging around with him on the loose. Maybe if I'm lucky I won't run into him again. I hope no one's told him which dorm I'm staying in."   
"Stephen could've done it." she admitted. "You didn't tell him not to, Long."  
"I hope he didn't. I don't have to patience to put up with that man." It was quiet for a moment, untill the elevator dinged when it reached their floor. They waited patiently for the door to open, letting another man in before they stepped out. Then they walked together untill they got to Alica's door and she turned to open it. "Alica... I think I've changed my mind. Would you like to come over for a bit?"  
"Sure." she replied, smiling brightly in happiness, and to hide the relief she felt. He nodded and gently took her arm in his own and lead her down the hall towards his room. She had no doubt that it was the encounter with his father that had changed his mind. Did he want company because he was afraid he would stop by again? _What would happen..._ Alica wondered, _if he did stop by and no one else was there?_ _Would he be able to control his anger, or would he try to kill him?_ She didn't know, but she didn't want find out. Apperently he didn't either. At least, not yet. When they reached his door he unlocked it and held it open for her, so she went in and sat down on the couch. After closing the door he went straight for the kitchen, probably to make himself some tea.  
"The first thing I'm going to do is find some airplane tickets." Long informed her. He was that anxious to get away from his father. Alica glanced idly around the familiar room as he got a couple mugs down and started making the tea. She wondered what was going on between Long and his father. She knew about their past, but what about their more recent interations with each other. _Why does Long's father follow him? Why does he want to talk to him so much? What is he trying to accomplish? Is he searching for his death? He must know how his son feels about him..._ She thought about asking a few of those questions out loud, but realized that Long probably wouldn't answer them. It didn't seem like he wanted to talk about anything except his hatred for his father.   
"I'll get the first flight I can find out of here, no matter what the cost!" he continued. "I'd hate to waste money on something extravagant, but I must get away from that man!" She noted the strained sound of anger in his voice, and his particular choice of words for describing his father. It was cool and detatched, but only in a manner that gave away the effort used to make it so. Listening to him, she could almost feel the distance between the two, as though it were the soft touch of cold fingers being dragged over her skin. It was an eerie feeling that made her face scrunch up and nearly forced her to shift in her seat. "One day I will bring him his death. He will be the only kill I will ever truly revel in. I will delight in using his blood to coat my hands, to splatter like paint over my body... and the ground, and the walls... and anything that gets in my way! It will be everywhere! Covering the room with it's gleaming red-"   
"Um, Long... can we talk about something not quite so insanely homicidal?"  
"Oh... I'm sorry. You obviously don't want to discuss my murderous fetishes, do you?"  
"No, I dont."  
"Alright then, let's just talk about getting out of here... hopefully as quickly as possible."  
"We could both use a little time away from here." she agreed.  
"Care to toast to that?" he asked, walking back into the room with two cups of tea.  
"This is all you ever drink, isn't it? Sure..." He handed her a cup and sat down in his chair.  
"To an all too insufficiently extended respite from the eternal damnation of Tylon." he suggested, raising his glass.  
"Cheers." she agreed, raising her glass as well. They both took a big gulp of the warm, bittersweet liquid.   
"And now, to business." he announced, getting up from his chair and taking his tea with him into his bedroom.  
"What business are you doing in there, Long? Are you trying to suggest something?"  
"Ridiculous! I'm simply going to make use of this heap of worthless electronic hardware that I call my computer."  
"Oh, you've got a computer in there?" she got up and walked into the room, spotting him at a little desk hiding in one corner. There wasn't a whole lot on it at the moment, just a little black laptop. No printer, scanner, copier, or fax machine. Then again one could hardly expect him to carry around such things, and he had moved in on short notice. She obviously hadn't noticed the desk or the computer before, but then again she had good reason not to since the last time she was in the room Long had been naked on the bed, covered by nothing but a few blankets. "Hm... you never struck me as the technological type... then again from the sound of your description I doubt you appriciate it much."  
"I don't really enjoy it as much as some people seem to, but it has it's uses." he replied. "I think it's much easier to buy things off the internet than to go driving around town, wasting time and money and dealing with the unruly general public. In any case I've found this is by far the most preferable way to shop for airfare." She nodded and watched as he signed on to the internet and pulled up a few various sites. He had obviously done some traveling before. Most likely business related, since he didn't seem the type to go off on vacation. "There doesn't seem to be anything open untill tomorrow so far... how dissapointing." Alica sat down on his bed, fell back and stretched out her tired muscles, and then relaxed.  
"You've got a nice comfy bed here Long."  
"It serves it's purpose." he muttered absently, engrossed in his search.   
"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to relax a bit." He stopped what he was doing for a minute to turn and give her a critical glance.   
"And I suppose you have some specific suggestion in mind?" She patted a spot on the bed next to her. "Do I have some strange effect on your hormones?"  
"You know it." she replied, smiling brightly.   
"Well, I am a bit preoccupied at the moment." he reminded her, turning back towards his work. "Besides which I'm not ever going to sit with you on that bed. Too suggestive."  
"Aw... I just wanted to cuddle."  
"That can be done elsewhere, and at a later time. I said what I meant, I'm getting those tickets now."  
"Of course, I wasn't trying to stop you..."  
"You're just starved for attention aren't you?" he asked, turning around to look at her again. She shied away from his gaze, unwilling to admit to her need for attention. She didn't want to seem too needy or too lonely, but sometimes she couldn't help acting that way. "You've been acting like that quite a bit lately." She nodded softly, seeing that it was futile to deny what he already knew. "Well, don't let it bother you, wo de qin. I shall have time for you in a moment." She smiled, realizing that he'd called her 'my dear' in his native tongue again. She liked that, and she felt really privilaged that he cared enough about her to set aside some of his time, even if it wasn't right away. He turned back to the computer, most likely comparing prices before deciding which plane tickets to buy. She laid back on the bed and waited patiently, staring at the ceiling, happy just to be in his presence.  
"If you're bored you can go into the front room and watch television or something."  
"I'm fine." she replied, unwilling to leave his presence. After just a few minutes he was done, and shut the computer down before getting up form his desk.   
"So... you're pretty lonely without Stephen around, even though you hardly know the man. Although, I admit he seems a good-natured and friendly sort. And even though your brother's gone you certainly can't miss him... so what could possibly account for this strange behavior?"  
"It's mood swings I guess." she replied, dismissing the matter with a shrug. Long shook his head, he wasn't buying it. "I was pretty worried when you said you were going to leave. I don't want to be left here alone."  
"I guess I can't blame you for that." She patted the spot next to her on the bed once more time, but he shook his head in refusal of her offer and walked out into the front room.  
"You know Long, that can be done anywhere."  
"I figure there's less a chance of it happening out here. Besides, there are certain subliminal images and suggestions associated with... Oh never mind."  
"I know what you're talking about." Alica admitted, finally getting off the bed and stepping into the front room. "I just think it's silly. No one's going to behave any differently just because they happen to be cuddling on a bed instead of a recliner."  
"And do you know that for certain?" he inquired, looking straight into her eyes to see that she answered him honestly.  
"Well... uh..."  
"Better safe than sorry."  
"I don't think there's anything we could do that would make me sorry."  
"Then please be gracious enough to respect my wishes." She looked a bit shocked, sad the he would even presume that she wouldn't.  
"You know Long, I really don't know any more about relationships than you do. Just because I joke about it a little bit doesn't mean I'm going to take advantage of you. You take my jokes a little too seriously, don't you think?"  
"I'm paranoid." he reminded her. "And you enjoy scaring me, don't you?"  
"Maybe a little." she admitted, snickering. He shook his head in dismay and picked his assignment folder up off the table before sitting down in his chair to study it. "So now you're going to ignore me again?"  
"My assignment is important." he stated coldly. He hadn't said that it was more important than her, but the way he was paying more attention to it made it seem so. However, she refused to be ignored. So rather than sitting down on the couch like she was supposed to she crawled onto his lap, snuck under the folder, and nestled into his chest. "Persistant, aren't you?" She just smiled and twisted around to look at the folder.  
"So, what kind of work's Van got to keep you so busy?"  
"You know, I don't believe you're supposed to be looking at that." He closed the folder.  
"Who's gonna know?"  
"That's not the point."  
"What is the point then? You're gonna hold it back from me just because you're obeying orders? Even though the orders come from a man you distrust and even despise? Van's not gonna be back for three weeks, and even if he was here he'd never find out."  
"What makes you so sure?"  
"Come on Long."  
"Alright..." he acquiesced, opening the folder back up again. "I suppose anything that Van doesn't become informed of immediately might not seriously injure me."   
"You could've just said that what Van doesn't know won't hurt you."  
"That is not my style. Such statements are overly simplistic, not to mention cliche." She just shrugged, realizing that his elaborate statements were one of his better personality quirks. Then they looked over the papers together, carefully reading all the instructions.  
"Looks like you're gonna be taking over in his absence."  
"Overseeing the entire complex and supervising operations to maintain disipline and order." he elaborated. "Or, more basically, asserting Van's oppresive presence in his absence in order to ensure that his employees will remain obedient and stay on schedule."  
"Doesn't that sound like a fun job?" Alica asked sarcastically. "Looks like you get to play Van for a day."  
"Not for a day, for two whole weeks. This could be amusing."  
"I think it's going to drive me up the wall if you start acting like Van."  
"In which case I promise to remain true to my own unique and somewhat odd personality."  
"You're not odd." she defended. "Well, maybe a little. But you make oddness look sexy."  
"That, in and of it's self, is an odd statement." Alica started laughing at the comment, so hard the tremors from her laughter shook him as well. "What can you possibly find to be humorous about that?"   
"Your verbosity is hilarious!" She laughed even harder.   
"Desist in your use of such words immediately! You're beginning to sound like I do and it's rather annoying." She just laughed louder, holding onto her stomach as it was beginning to ache. "Stop that as well." he commanded, losing his composure and starting to giggle. "Your laughter is contagious!" Finally he broke into laughter, although he was still desperately fighting the reaction. "Quit it!" he poked her lightly in the side with his index finger, in a futile effort to get her to stop. "Haha... I demand that you discontinue this activity at once!" he pleaded, which only made her laugh more. "Cease this maddness!" he cried, poking her again.  
"Ahh, that tickles!"   
"Aha! I shall tickle you into submission!" he declared. Alica screamed in glee as his fingers wiggled into the sides of her stomach. She struggled in his grasp, trying desperately to break free. After a few minutes she suceeded, tumbling over the side of the chair. "Ha! Now at least you have a reason to laugh." He laughed at his own statement for a moment and then abruptly stopped, as though it reminded him of something that ruined his mood. Alica continued laughing for awhile, oblivious to his plight untill she started to calm down. "That was disturbing." Long commented.  
"Aw, you mean it wasn't as good for you as it was for me?" she teased, picking her self up off the floor.  
"Alica." he complained.  
"What's wrong? What put you in such a bad mood all of a sudden?"  
"My father."  
"Huh?"  
"Something I said reminded me of something he used to say... ugh, I think I'm going to be sick."  
"What was it?"  
"I said that you had a reason to laugh because I tickled you. It reminded me of how he used to get angry when we were training. If I didn't get a move right he would punish me, and if I cried he'd say something like: 'I'll give you a reason to cry!' and then..." He purposely left the sentence unfinished, leaving it to her imagination. He couldn't stop the memories from flooding back, all the times he'd failed and been beaten to the ground. He was only a little boy at the time. He couldn't stop himself from crying, and that only made the man more angry. He could remember it as well as though it had happened only hours ago, when in reality it had been years. He could almost hear his father's words in his head, and feel the pain as his fists pounded into his body.  
"The bastard." Alica commiserated.  
"One day _I_ will give _him_ a reason, a reason to wish he'd never been born."   
"Long, maybe we should change the subject, hm?"  
"We don't have to talk about it if you want," he agreed, "but I can't help thinking about it." She realized that his memories of his father were pulling him down, so she climbed back on top of him and snuggled into his chest in an effort to comfort him. He brought one hand up to gently stroke her back, holding her to him and finding comfort in the warmth of her touch. He tried to relax and let his thoughts drift as the minutes passed by, but they always returned to his father. He couldn't seem to get the man out of his mind, not matter how much he wanted to. His father was the reason he was often cold, bitter and angry. It was his fault that he was forced to kill for Tylon, his fault that their family had any contact with the company in the first place. Long's entire weary existance was his father's fault, and so he despised the man, even as much as he hated himself.  
"You feel any better yet?" Alica asked, shifting a bit under his arm.   
"I will never feel any better, not untill that man is dead."  
"Kill him then. End his irritating existance and be done with it."  
"I cannot... not yet. But when the time comes I shall truly revel in it."  
"Why not yet?"  
"The time has not yet come for such action. I have his death planned out, meticulously." he explained. "Whenever I see him I go over it, again and again in my mind. But the timing must be right, or else everything will fall apart. Besides, my mother and sister are still living off his income, remember? Unfortunately that makes him indispensible... but only for the moment."  
"Damn... So, what are you going to do once the time does come then?"  
"You actually want to discuss it?"  
"Well, I might not enjoy listening to you talk about killing every single person who pisses you off, but bastards like your father and my brother are a different story. Death is the least they deserve."  
"The same could be said about us, I believe."  
"True... but we wouldn't even be in this position if it weren't for the ones who put us here."   
"All the more reason to get rid of them." Long agreed. "Well, you already know the basics. Once I have enough money to support my mother and sister myself my father is no longer necessary. If my father were alive when I asked my mother and sister to leave I believe they would have some doubts about leaving him behind anyway. I think it goes without saying that I'm not taking him. Besides which I've been lusting after his death for quite come time. However, if they were to discover that I had killed him, or perhaps happened to witness his death they certainly wouldn't trust me. So the difficulty then is how to kill him without either of them discovering who did it. I thought about taking him down into the cellar and locking the both of us in, but if I did my mother and sister would surely suspect something. Perhaps they would even hear him scream, I can't have that.  
"If I tried to kill him when he was at work I would most certainly be caught, and after work he hardly leaves the house. At first I thought that the best thing to do would be to take him out sometime during his daily commute back home. The problem with that is that all the streets he travels through are fairly crowded, there would be too many witnesses. Now, if I wanted to I could kill him very quickly in the parking lot, if it were deserted. A simple hit on the right spot of his head would do, but I don't want it to go that way. I want to have plenty of time to play with him first. I want him to experience first-hand all the pain he's put me through."  
"What are you going to do then?" she wondered, realizing that getting rid of the man posed some serious problems if he didn't want to be caught.  
"It must have been an incredible stroke of genius when I thought this up, it's the perfect plan." he replied, his mouth twisting into a sinister smile that made her want to cringe. "It's really quite simple." He paused for effect, and then began his description of it. "I'll wait untill he gets off work and is heading for his car in the parking lot. I'll simply go up to him and say that I want to have a talk with him. He'll be too shocked to question me, I think. So we'll both get into his car and I'll request that we drive off into a nice, secluded area... HAHAHAHAHAHA! And then the fun begins!"   
  
*I ought to ask you the same.  
*Is that how you greet your father? Have you no shame? I am here for the same reason you are. 


	16. Alica's Inner Turmoil

Alright, another chapter done. ^_^ I want to thank all my friends for their continuing support, everyone who ever left a review, and specifically Byakko who has helped correct my terrible Pin Yin (since I can't seem to get ahold of him by mail). **Alica's Inner Turmoil** Alica smiled at the sound of his laughter, but on the inside she was a bit jealous. Long seemed so certain of himself. He'd obviously taken a lot of time and put a lot of thought into this killing, planned things out meticulously. He was sure his plan would work. Alica was envious because she now wanted to have a plan like that for killing Van. Something that was just as well thought out and wouldn't fail due to some miserable fluke like her first two attempts had. She was determined to find something, anything to get her half-brother out of her life. She despised him even more than she cared to admit. However, she didn't want to take him out personally, like Long had planned to do with his father. Somehow she was afraid of him, afraid that somehow he would overpower her. _And if he catches me then God knows what he'll do..._ she thought, very aware that he might decide to use her as some kind of test subject for his work. _I don't want to be given to Busuzima._ She made a face just thinking about it.  
"Alica...?" Long asked, poking her in the side. "Was it something I said?"  
"Oh no, it wasn't you at all." she quickly replied. "I was just thinking..."  
"About?"  
"Killing Van, what else?" She smiled again, hiding her anger at her brother with the happiness she would feel if she could be rid of him.  
"I see... well if you'd ever like to coordinate an effort to be rid of him, you know whom you may call on." He smiled back at her, nearly as anxious to be rid of her bothersome sibling as she was.  
"I want to have something waiting for him when he gets back from his vacation." Alica decided. "But I have no idea what to do... maybe you can help me think of something?"  
"It would be my pleasure, wo de qin."  
"I've already tried poisoning his food and sabotaging his vehicle... so what other options do we have?"  
"There are many methods available to dispatch the unwary. I believe we must find something that works quickly and quietly, something that can't be traced back to the perpetrators."  
"I like your way of thinking." she smiled. "Any suggestions then?"  
"Several... perhaps we ought to hold a brainstorming session. Do you mind if I get a bit of paper and a few pens for note-taking?"  
"Not at all." she replied. He waited a few seconds for a further response.  
"You might want to get off me so I can get up."  
"Oh." she blinked in surprise, having nearly forgotten that she was laying on top of him. "Aw, but I'm so comfy here..."  
"You want to kill Van, don't you?"  
"Alright..." she aquiesced, climbing off of him and walking over to sit down on the couch instead.  
"Thank you." he replied. He walked into his room and she heard him shuffling around in some desk drawers before he came back out with two pens and several pieces of paper. He set it all down on the coffe table and then sat on the floor in front of it, squeezing between the couch and the coffe table. She slid down off the couch to sit beside him and he handed her a pen and set a few pieces before her on the table. He wrote a title on his paper: 'Ideas for killing Van'. "Obviously we're going to have to destroy these papers when we're through. Don't want any incirminating evidence lying around." She nodded and duplicated the title on her paper. "Poisoning would have been the first thing that came to my mind." he admitted. "However, as that's been tried already I see no need for a repeat performance." Alica nodded again in agreement.   
"We've got to find something that will not fail to find it's mark. Something that cannot be undone by any unfortunate twist of fate."  
"It would be so much easier to just walk up to him and kill him..."  
"He usually carries guns around." she warned. "And he can draw them pretty quick."  
"Hm... in that case I'll ditch that idea. I don't think I'd like to try my hand at dodging bullets. Anything else I should know?"  
"Well, when he's here he's usually either in his office with Vark or walking around the building supervising things."  
"He's got to sleep sometime, doesn't he?"  
"His suite is at the top of the building, but it's got very high security that even I can't penetrate right now."  
"Damn."  
"That's why I tried the poisoning and sabotage... not much else you can do."  
"We'll just have to be a bit creative about this." He leaned his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand, trying to think things through. "Well, we can't attack him head on... not unless we take him by surprise. Even then we'd probably wind up in some kind of gun battle. Personally, I don't use guns. They're a coward's weapon. So, we're going to have to find a method to attack him indirectly." Alica nodded in agreement. "Do you have any idea which flight he's taking back? Maybe we can shoot his plane down..."  
"Long, that would kill hundreds of innocent people!"  
"But it would also kill him, wouldn't it? Think of all the lives we'd be saving by-"  
"That's insane, I won't go along with it."  
"Foiled again." he mumbled. "Van's a frustrating person to get rid of."  
"You're telling me."  
"We could leave a bomb up in his bedroom, if we could get into it in the first place..."  
"But we can't."  
"We could leave a bomb in his car then."  
"Which one? You can never tell which he's going to use."  
"We'll leave bombs in all of them!"  
"It won't work right now Long, once he gets back from his vacation a chauffeur will take the car to go pick him up. We'll just end up killing some useless pawns and alerting him to the fact that someone's trying to get rid of him. Then he'll be sure and check the rest of his cars."  
"How about some kind of booby trap?"  
"Sounds good... anything specific in mind?"  
"I don't know... we could lock him in his office and fill it with poison gass."  
"That would be worth a try... but he's already got the waiting room rigged with some kind of gas, so he always carries a gas mask with him."  
"That stubborn piece of s**t!"  
"It's not like no one's tried to kill him before you know." Alica stated. "It's gonna be a lot of trouble getting to him."  
"I can't think of anything else now!" he complained. "Maybe we'll discuss this later, after I've had some time to think it over."  
"Alright." she agreed, seeing that the discussion wasn't getting them anywhere and only frustrating her friend. She understood how he felt, the matter had frustrated her just as much when she first considered it.  
"I need time... and perhaps a bit of meditation." he concluded. "In fact I would suggest you think about it as well. Two minds are better than one afterall."  
"I can't help but think about it anyway."  
"Well, for the meditation I also need solitude..." he hinted.  
"Oh." she got the hint.  
"Let's sleep on it, shall we? We'll think of what we can and then talk about it tomorrow."  
"Okay..." she realized that it was a good idea, even though she didn't like the thought of being alone for the rest of the day. Still, thinking about ways to kill Van could keep her pretty preoccupied. _If only Stephen were here..._ she thought. Somehow Dr. Goldberg always found a way to cheer her up. Long was different. Althought she knew that he cared for her it sometimes seemed as though he were too wrapped up in his own problems to have time for her. Besides which it was true that he had a tendency to be a bit gloomy, while Stephen on the other hand was usually very friendly and cheerful. She really needed that, but decided that she would just have to make do with what she had.   
She got up from the couch and walked over to the front door wth Long trailing after her. He speed up a bit and got there ahead of her, insisting upon opening the door and holding it for her as she walked out. He nodded to her politely as she left, but before he could retreat back into his room she threw her arms around him for a hug. A bit of a smirk tugged at the edges of his lips and he patted her back gently before letting her go.   
"Oh how sweet... but, no kiss goodbye?" A high pitched voice to their left asked. They turned to see Fox walking down the hall towards them, probably on his way up to his dorm.  
"None of your business Hans." Long growled.  
"Aw... you mean I can't get a hug too?"  
"Can it." Alica hissed.  
"I only hug people that I feel comfortable with." the top assassin stated.  
"In case you didn't get the hint that rules you out, Hans." she added.  
"I think your rudeness is starting to rub off on him, what a shame." Fox frowned. "He actually treated me halfway decent back in China."  
"That was before you started hitting on me, Hans." Long explained. "Your treatment is the direct result of your own actions."  
"Oh? But I can't help myself deary, you're so much fun to tease!"  
"Then I suggest you make an effort to resist the compulsion to do so."   
"I'm going back to my dorm now." Alica declared, turning away from them both and heading off. She walked a few steps towards her door and then turned back to Long for a moment and waved. "I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded in reply and she walked into her dorm and closed the door behind her.   
"I guess she got tired of arguing with me." Fox assumed.  
"She's not the only one."   
"What say we call a truce then?"  
"Are you serious?"  
"Well I certainly got tired of being strangled halfway to death..."  
"Well now, I can't promise that won't happen again." He looked up and down the hallway in a casual manner, realizing that no one was around and wondering if he could get away with killing Hans this very second.  
"Look, I really wanted to apologize for the thing about the make-up. I know you didn't take that well." Long gave him a critical glance, wondering if he could actually be serious. _Maybe he just doesn't want me to kill him._ "I really am sorry about it." Fox insisted. "I do know that you don't like that sort of thing... Well, I guess I just got a bit carried away. You are so lovely afterall." Long found himself wishing that he were ugly again. "Anyway, I'd probably better get up to my dorm now, so I'll see you around." Fox walked off down the hall, giving him a swift wave before dissapearing into the elevator.   
"Missed my chance, damnit." Long muttered to himself. "Meh... probably wouldn't have worked anyway. I would've gotten blood stains on the carpet and someone would've seen me carrying him out to the dumpster." he sighed in anoyance, wishing that he could simply kill someone and get it over with. His father, Van, Fox, anyone. No more waiting and carefull planning, just blood and death. _The time will come,_ he assured himself, as he often had to. Yet the assurance was beginning to wear thin. It seemed as though the more he had to wait, and the more his patience was tried, the more he lost control of his desire to kill. He frowned at nothing and went back into his dorm, slamming the door and locking it behind him. He thought that he desperately needed some time alone, to think things through, but at the same time he had to wonder if it would accomplish more bad than good.  
  
The next morning Alica Tylon got up a little earlier than usual. She was happy at first, quickly getting herself washed and dressed. She'd been thinking of ways to kill Van all evening the day before and finally thought about something that she believed might work. She smiled to herself, quite pleased with her idea, and thought that she couldn't wait to tell Long all about it. But first they would need to get a bit of breakfast in them, so she decided to drag him down to the cafeteria. She went over to his dorm and knocked loudly, but no one answered. He must still be asleep, she thought. What a shame... she tried the door knob just out of curiosity and found it open. Did he forget to lock the door again? She walked into his living room and up to his bedroom door, opening it silently and peeking in just a bit. She couldn't see much more than a large lump on top of the bed and under the blankets.   
"Long? you awake?" He rolled over from one side to the other and groaned in discomfort at the sound of her voice. Then he lifted the covers down off of his head and blinked at her face in his doorway.  
"I am now... what do you want?"  
"Buffet breakfast in the cafeteria."  
"Go get it then." he mumbled, pulling the covers back over his head. She waited a few seconds to see if he'd get up, but he staid in his bed and soon the sound of deep breathing told her that he'd fallen back asleep again.  
"I see this needs an Alica Tylon solution..." she said. She waited another minute to see if the sound of her voice had disturbed him, but he didn't stir. She wasn't surprised at all. She went back into her room and foraged around for a few minutes before finding a bucket, and then filled it with ice and cold water. She was just heading for the door when another little thought came to her mind and she found a bathrobe and wrapped it around herself so tightly that her clothes didn't show under it. Then she smiled to herself, _This is going to be fun._ She hurried back into his room and dumped the entire bucketfull right over his head.  
"Get up!" she commanded.  
"Ack!" he cried, jumping to a sitting position. "What did you do that for!?!"   
"To get you up." she explained. "Would you rather I have slipped into your bed naked and mad it look like we f**ked?" His eyes went wide in shock at her suggestion and she smirked her trade mark Alica smirk.  
"If you keep scaring me like this I'm going to stay in China."  
"I don't think Van'll be happy with that." she reminded.  
"Damn." he muttered angrilly. She set the bucket down on his floor and walked over to his dresser to start picking out some clothes, anxious to be on her way.   
"Now let's get you dressed."  
"I can probably do that without your help if you'd kindly leave the room for a moment..." Long pleaded. Alica ignored him in favor of continuing her search and pulled out a light blue sleeveless shirt with some oriental design on back, along with some blue pants and a black and red belt.   
"Here, this will look nice." Then she tossed them on the bed.  
"Where did you find these?" he wondered, looking them over as though he'd never seen them before.   
"They were in here." she answered, pointint to a few drawers.  
"Well no wonder I couldn't find them earlier, they were in the wrong place!" he declared. "I was certain I'd brought at least one casual outfit... I don't usually dress this way though. Then again I suppose it wouldn't hurt since it's highly unlikely I'll get any work today."  
"See? Cutting loose already." she said, smiling brightly.   
"I suppose, although I wouldn't bet on that lasting very long..."  
"...but still." She shrugged, and for the first time he noticed that she was standing around in her bathrobe.   
"You know it wouldn't hurt you to get dressed either."  
"I know but I stripped in case the bucket failed." His face took on it's shocked look again.  
"Alica, please!"  
"Just kidding!"  
"Ugh..." he groaned, rubbing his forehead as though weary. Alica undid her robe and he forze in horror for a moment before she opened it up and revealed her work clothes underneath. He sighed in relief. "Whew, you had me really scared there for a minute. Why do you enjoy scaring me like that?"  
"Your adorble when your terrified..." she explained. "I'm not Hans, I wouldn't drop that... but they say I have mental problems and mess with peoples heads."  
"Well, it's still not nice to terrorize people."  
"Sorry..." she apologized, laughing nervously. He gave her a curious look, wondering why she was acting so strangely.  
"You know, every time you say something like that it does make me more afraid of you." he warned. "So you really ought to stop."  
She forwned, realizing that what she was doing might make him even more scared of him than he already was. She couldn't think of anything better to do than apologize again. "Oh... sorry."  
"Anyway... you can go now..." Long hinted, with a meaningfull cough.  
"Right... ok." She picked up the bucket and headed back to her room. He watched carefully as she left, waiting to make sure she was gone before climbing out of the bed in nothing but some pajama bottoms. He got himself undressed and took a quick shower before getting dressed in the clothes she'd set out. Then he brushed through his hair and put it up in his usual low ponytail. Once he was done he went straight back to her dorm and knocked on the door, thinking that it was unusually quiet.  
"Alright. I'm up and I'm dressed, what more do you want?"  
"Gimme a sec!" her voice cried through the door. It sounded a bit twisted, like she was in some kind of pain.   
"Alica, are you alright?"  
"I'm FINE!"  
"Whoa, okay..." he was getting very suspicious. Something was obviously going on in there and she wasn't usually the type to yell like that. "What's going on in there anyway?"  
"Nothing. I'm fine..." she sounded better this time, maybe just a little too happy, which indicated to him that she was hiding something.  
"You sure?" His hand drifted towards the door nob and he turned it slightly, untill it made a clicking sound. Then she opened it rather suddely, as though she had heard it and wanted to stop him. He blinked and then realized that she'd changed from the T-shirt she'd been wearing earlier into a long sleeve. _Suspicious..._ he thought. "Why the sudden change? Spill something?"  
"Yeah, I got makup on my other shirt." He could sense her lie easilly, her false happiness gave her away.  
"Hm, I never figured you for the sort to wear it..."  
"I don't, I was getting my brush and it spilt."  
"If you don't wear it, then why do you even have it?" he wondered, certain that the makeup was a false excuse for something more sinister. "If you don't mind me saying so, you certainly don't need it." He smiled shyly, in order to assure her that he had meant the compliment. She smirked, realizing that he was trying to get some sort of information out of her. She was on top of the game.  
"People give it to me, and I'm not exaclty in a position to refuse." He nodded, accepting that he wasn't going to get the truth out of her quite yet.  
"Alright then..." he moved up next to her and took her arm in his own, ready to lead her down to teh cafeteria. "Shall we be off wo de qin?  
"Sure..." she smiled a little and shifted in his grasp as though uncomfortable. Before she pulled her arm away he'd felt something under her sleeve, a slight bump, maybe from some kind of bandage. _Enough is enough, Alica. You're beginning to scare me..._ He grabbed her arm and pulled the sleeve down to find half her arm all bandaged up. He gasped in shock at the size of it. _It must be a major wound she's trying to hide... but where did she get it? _  
"Alica..." She twisted away from him and pulled her sleeve back down.  
"I'm fine."  
"I hope that was accidental." _But then... how could it be?_  
"Yes... it was."  
He frowned, thinking he'd just given her another excuse. And then he decided that he was going to get to the bottom of this. "Alica, I'm concerned for you... promise me you'll be more careful."  
"You have nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine." She was obviously trying to assure him of the statement, but ended up sounding more like she was trying to convince herself. He eyed her curiously for a moment and then warped his arms around her and whispered in her ear.   
"You know, I would be devastated if anything happened to you."  
"I know..." her words were weak, having no substance to back up her claim. Long noticed it immediately, along with the fact that she was getting a little shaky. Why doesn't she want to tell me what's wrong? He gently rubed her back with one hand and nuzzled his cheek against hers.   
"Forget about whatever is bothering you, let's go and get that breakfast, alright?"  
"I can't..." she finally admitted, her voice sounding torn.  
"Why not? It's something serious...?"  
"I'm broken..." He was surprised at the sincerity of the comment, and pulled back to look into her eyes and smile reassuringly.   
"You are strong Alica, you will survive it." She looked away from him for a minute, as though afraid of something. It wasn't normal behavior for her and he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. He lifted one hand to stroke at her cheek, trying to give her a reason not to fear him. "Don't you believe me? Alica, if you ever need my help, I'll be here for you."  
"You can't fix this. I'm broken." He frowned at the word again.  
"What do you mean?"  
"My mind is broken..." she whispered, afraid to say anymore. He sighed sorrowfully, and realized that this was a problem he couldn't just dismiss simply by trying to make her feel better.  
"Why don't you go sit down for a bit?" He took her arm once more and lead her back into her dorm. "I'm assuming you don't mind my presence here..." he led her to a couch in the middle of the room and sat down next to her. "Now... Is there anything you want to talk with me about?" She shook her head and stared at the ground, having already told him all she could manange. She was unable to bear revealing anymore about her unstable mental condition. He looked around the room idly for a moment. It was done in a very modern style and the predominant colors were red, silver, and black. _Appropriate enough..._ he thought. Then he noticed a few pill continers on the table top in front of him.  
"Are you on some kind of medication?" She nodded slightly and he picked one of the containers up and realized that it was emtpy. Then he looked back at the others, they were all empty. He read the labels and realized that they were all medications for various mental disorders. _So this is what she was trying to tell me! How could I be so dense!_ "I see now..." he commented, looking for some response from her, but finding none. "I might find some of these useful myself..." he admitted with a smirk. "However... have you been taking these appropriately? I don't mean to seem so suspicious, but I am concerned..."  
"They're gone..." she stated the obvious. It left him wondering exactly how long they'd been gone, and why she hadn't gone to get more of them. He checked the wirtting on the labels to see if she had any refils left and it turned out she did.  
"So you need refils? I suppose that can be arranged... where do you usually get these?"  
"The pharmacy at the lab."  
"The lab, eh? And you trust those people? I certainly wouldn't trust them with my life..."  
"It's the only place..."   
He nodded and picked up the bottles. "In which case, perhaps it is best if I take these down and get the refils for you... do I have your permission?"  
She got out a pen and wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Give them this and the card."   
"Alright..." She handed him the note she'd just written and some kind of medical insurance card. He took them from her and then watched her for a bit, wondering if she'd be alright if he left her alone for a bit. A low hiss emerged from her lips and her eyes started turning yellow, the pupils turning to slits instead of staying round. He blinked in confusion, unwilling to believe what he was seeing. "Alica?" she just stared at him blankly with her wild, animal eyes. He wasn't sure quite what to do. "Hm... perhaps I ought to find someone to watch over you for a minute while I'm gone..." The problem was that he couldn't think of anyone off the top of his head that would do it since Van and Stephen were both gone. Finally she started to shift, seemingly unable to control the transformation. Her body twisted into a different form and scales covered her skin.  
"This doesn't look good..." he dropped the bottles and got up off the couch, crouching nearby in a defensive posture. She hissed one more time and finished morphing, one great clawed hand raised up for a slash. At first he was to too shocked to do anything but back up a bit. She charged foreward with her claw held up, ready to strike, but he ducked and rolled aside at the last minute. She hit the door instead, her claw buried in the middle of the wood. Her raptor eyes blinked and she growled in fury, yanking on her claw in an effort to dislodge it. He realized that he couldn't afford to wait untill she was free, he must act immediately.  
"I hate to do this, but..." he did a hard jumping kick, putting all his force into the blow. It knocked her claw free from the door and sent her flying through the air untill she hit the next wall.   
"Ergh!" she growled, trying to stand up. She stumbled back to the floor, obviously dazed, but only for a moment.  
"Forgive me Alica..." He walked up to her and punched her in the stomach with another powerfull blow, hoping that if he did her enough damage she'd revert to human form. She growled in pain and threw her head against the wall. The impact was hard enough that she reverted to her human form, and she was knocked out. He picked her up off the ground and laid her gently on the couch, checking to make sure her vital signs were strong. "Alica? Can you hear me?" There was no response, she was still out, but otherwise she was breathing well and he could feel a strong pulse. It seemed as though she was going to be fine. He sat down on the floor next to the couch for a minute, watching her carefully to make sure she kept breathing. She had given herself quite a nasty bump on the head, but it was already starting to heal.   
Finally he decided that she'd be fine for a minute and that he'd better go and get her medications before she woke up. He picked the pill bottles back up from where he'd dropped them earlier and left the room, closing the door carefully behind him. He noticed the deep gash her claw had made, the hole went all the way through the door. _That could've been me... _he reminded himself. Then he walked down to the lab. It was pretty emtpy with most of the doctors gone, but unfortunately his father was there doing his work. He tried to pass by the man unnoticed, but it proved an impossible task. The man yelled out to him, asking where he was going, but Long just ignored him and walked on past to the pharmacy. It took awhile for them to fill Alica's perscription since there were a lot of pills, but it was done soon enough and he took the back way out to avoid his father.  
When he got back to her dorm she was still sleeping peacefully. He checked around the room a bit and everything looked in place, so it seemed as if nothing had happened while he'd been gone. He set the pills back down on the table and noticed that the bandages were falling off her arm. They'd come lose during her transformation, which had also ruined her sleeves. He bent down to put them back and finally saw what she'd been trying to hide from him all along. She had been carving a word into her own flesh. He peeled off the rest of the bandage to get a better look. 'NO LOV' was what her arm read. It ended there, as he had obviously disturbed her before she could finish what she'd been doing. "Hm, this is disturbing. I wonder what else it would have said if..." he purposely let the sentence trail off. "Best not think about that."  
Then he realized that it wasn't the only scar on her arm. The blood coming from the wound uncovered that others were also there, only it seemed they were slightly lightened up. He brushed his hand over her arm and found that it was covered in a sort of make-up. He got up for a minute and got a warm cloth, washing the blood and skin colored gunk away. What he saw astonished him. There were several older scars that looked like attempts to kill herself, most likely from past mental episodes. Only a few looked as though they could possibly be scars from any kind of fight. He ran his fingers over the uneven surface once more and then bent down to kiss it softly, as if somehow it would help her to heal.   
_I had no idea it was this bad... I shall do what I can to protect you, Alica._ He threw the old bandages out and wrapped a new one around the cleaned area before trying to pull down what was left of her sleeve to cover it. Then he curled up on the floor next to the couch and watched her as she slept. He really hadn't had any experience with mental illnesses before, not quite like this anyway. He'd always had his own problems of course, and his father as well, there had always been something wrong with him. But never like this. All he understood was hatred and anger towards others, that was what his father had taught him. He admitted that he felt a bit of self-hatred too, but he'd always taken that out on others as well, never on himself like she had. He laid there thinking such thoughts for the better part of an hour, untill she finally woke up and rubbed tenderly at the bump on the back of her skull.   
"So you're finally awake. Sorry about that, but it was necessary."  
"What happened...?"  
"Well... you transformed and attacked me."  
"S**t." she cried, her face taking on a shocked look. "Meds... where..." She started looking around frantically.  
"You had depleted your supply, so I went to refill it for you..." he explained, pointing to where he'd set them on the table. She grabbed them from the table and clutched them like a psychopath for a few seconds, and he looked at her as though afraid she'd start acting strangely again. Then she calmed down and headed for her bathroom to get some water.  
"You really ought to be more carefull about refilling those on time... wouldn't want to run out again."  
"Thanks..." her voice came back to him from the bathroom. "I'm, so sorry..."  
"Oh, it's alright. I'm just glad that it happened while I was here. Otherwise who knows what kind of trouble you might have gotten yourself into."  
"Yes..." She walked back out momentarilly and placed the pills back on the table they'd started on. She looked at him then, as she sat on the couch, and then looked away in shame.  
"It's alright Alica..." he got up off the floor adn sat down next to her. Then he patted her back, hoping it would bring her some comfort. "I was just worried about you."  
"You must think I'm some sort of dependent psychopath..." she assumed, her voice sad, "no one would want that."  
"No, I think you're a very independent and intelligent woman." he assured her. "You must have been in order to survive Tylon for this long." She sighed in relief.   
"Thanks to the wonders that are psychiatric drungs!"  
Long laughed and added, "Well they certainly have their uses."  
"Merf... at least thats over... I just stayed in here correct?"  
"Yes, I knocked you out before you could leave the room, and then laid you on the couch."  
"Thank god... I don't need anyone seeing me in that form."  
"What is it exactly? If you don't mind me asking."  
"A raptor." she answered. "A Utahraptor to be precise."  
"I can see why you don't want Van knowing about it."   
She nodded absently. "At least someone was here to catch me... last time it hapepened it wasn't pretty."  
"I bet..." he mumbled.  
"Hm?"  
"Never mind, the past is irrelevant."  
"Perhaps, in most cases."  
"Hopefully..."  
"I'm just glad this happend before we left."  
"Yes, it could have been a real disaster."  
"What time is the flight?" He looked around the room for a clock.   
"Um... I believe it was around 6pm."  
"And it's what now?" He finally found one in the corner of the room.  
"It's around 4, we'd better get ready to go. Are you packed?  
"No... but not to worry." She got up from her couch and pulled a small suitcase out from her room. "I always leave essential items in the here."  
"Good idea." he nodded, thinking that he ought to do the same that himself. "Well, I do have a few things to pack myself, so I'd probably better get to it." She nodded and walked over towards her closet, but then came back over to him.  
"Yes?" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek.  
"Thank you..." he was quite a bit startled.  
"Oh, uh... it was not a problem." He blushed a bit, unsued to the attention.  
"You probibly saved me from killing myself. I owe you everything for that."  
"Well, I couldn't just stand aside and let you hurt yourself." he replied. She nodded in agreement, and smiled a little bit, thinking how lucky she was to have a friend like him. "Anyway, it was the least I could do. You're the only real friend I've had since coming here."  
"I could say the same about you... we should pack though." She finally let go of him and moved back a bit. "What's the weather like there?"  
"Yes, of course... well, at this time of year it should probably be fairly pleasant. Not to warm, not too cold. We'll probably be inside most of the time anyway."  
"Anything I should avoid packing?"  
"Hm... well probably anything that would set of the metal detectors they'll run our bags through. But not much besides that."  
"Alright."  
"I'll come and knock on your door when I'm done packing then."  
"Okay." he nodded to her politely and then went back to his dorm, and they both started packing quickly. 


	17. Try and Relax

Oi... sorry this chapter took so long, I've been bored, preoccupied, lazy, and had the computer taken in for awhile among other things. **Try and Relax** After she was done packing Alica decided to change her outfit, since what she'd been wearing earlier was all torn up from her transformation. She wiggled out of her torn up pants and shirt, thinking that she was very glad she hadn't been wearing one of her favorite outfits. Her underclothing seemed fine, so she left that on while she found another outfit. It reminded her that this would be her third shirt so far this morning. In the middle of her dressing she heard a knock as her door. She scrambled to pull her pants up as she ran to answer it. Long was on the other side with his suitcase, he'd obviously finished packing. "Yes?" His face turned bright red as he stood there looking at her, and she wondered what could possibly be wrong.   
"Um... Alica, you're... uh... shirt is missing."  
"Oh!" she cried, realizing that she hadn't quite gotten in on yet. She hastilly threw it over her shoulders. "Heheh... sorry."   
"Ai ya! You really ought to be more carefull what you answer the door in. What if Van had come to check in on you?"  
She frowned and replied, "It wouldn't be the first time."  
"Oh really? He checks on you often then?" He had to wonder if the same sort of thing ever happened when he was around. "Kinky, sadistic bastard." he muttered under his breath.  
"Every so often he'll pop up." she admitted. "Usually he brings my medicine refills, but he went away, which is why I ran out."  
"I see..."   
She sighed sorrowfully, wishing it could be otherwise. "Anyway I'm packed."  
"Well, we've still got an hour... but it shouldn't take that long to get to the airport, should it?"  
"I'd recommend getting there as early as possible, with the new security checks and all... plus we gotta make sure the tickets are ok, ne?" He nodded in agreement.  
"Alirght, let's get going then." Then he picked up his suitcase and headed for the elevator with Alica trailing after him. He waited by the elevator for her for a second, and then they got in and he pushed the button to take them down to the parking lot.  
"We'll be taking my car of course."  
"You ever get the window repaired?"  
"Damn, I forgot all about that..." Then he mumbled something incoherent, cursing himself for forgetting to repair his car. Then again he really didn't want to be out in public while he was being watched for anyway, so there wasn't much he could've done. "Oh well, anyone who tries to steal my car will be better off dead."  
"Want to take mine then?" she offered, hoping to keep him out of trouble.  
"Alright." She nodded and fished the keys out of her pocket. The elevator landed on their floor shortly and they picked up their bags again and got out.  
"Uh, you go ahead and lead." he requested. "I'm not sure which one it is." She took the lead and walked him over to her jeep.  
"It's this one." she said with a smile. She was very proud of her Jeep, it being her favorite vechicle and all. He simply nodded and waited for her to unlock it. She took her bags and threw them in the trunk before unlocking the doors. He did the same, and then got into the passenger side of the car. She was already there, and she reved the engine and they rode off into the city.  
"When we get there, want me to see if I can get us bumped up to first class?"  
"Sure." he agreed. She nodded in reply and then leaned back in her chair and sighed in relaxation. She really enjoyed driving her car. Long also leaned back and looked out the side window, watching idly as the city passed by. They got there pretty quickly and she found a nice parking spot before they stopped and got out of the car. They pulled their bags out of the back and walked into the airport. Their larger bags were checked in and Alica dragged him over to the ticket counter.  
"Let me work my magic." she said. So he handed her the tickets and watched as she headed up to the counter. He couldn't hear much from where he stood, but only a few minutes later she returned with a smile on her face.  
"I take it your magic worked?"  
"Very well, they lets us get the private VIP box."  
"Nice work." he stated, genuinely impressed.  
"Yes... want to head in? Maybe hit a magazine store before going on?"  
"Sounds good." She nodded and they headed past the security to all the little shops inside the airport. They browsed around the shops for a few minutes untill their flight was announced and they went in and took their seats. She asked for the window seat and he let her have it, quite content to sit on the other side of their private box. They took off shortly and enjoyed the peaceful journey. They were both so caught up in excitement of the trip that they forgot all about their plans for killing the people they hated for a moment. Alica looked out her window into the sky for a minute, wondering what the rest of Long's family was going to be like. They sat in the plane enjoying the ride without comment for awhile, she yawned in boredom.  
"Getting tired?" he asked.  
"Yes..." she admitted. "I hate long flights."  
"Unfortunately it happens to be a necessity in this instance."   
"That's true." she paused for a moment before she went on. "At least we're in a private box."  
"Yes, it is nice that we don't have to put up with unruly passengers."  
"Or crying infants."   
"Indeed..." he trailed off, making a face at the mere mention of it. She groaned in agreement with his obvious distaste. "It seems you don't like children anymore than I do."  
"Well, they are cute once they aren't babies..." she expounded. "it would be the first few years that would wear on me."  
"I see..." he nodded. "Personally I haven't much experience with children of any age, so I feel a bit uncomfortable around them."  
"Understandable."  
"Afterall I only have one sibling, and it's been a long time since she was a child."  
"Ahh." Alica nodded, not really surprised that he didn't have any experience with children.  
"She's in her mid-teens now." Long said, as though it were an explanation for something. She nodded again, suddenly reminded of something.  
"I used to have a sister..." she remembered. "I have no clue where she is now."  
"Oh really?" he was a bit surprised. He'd never heard mention of a sister, and wondered who this sister's parents were. "One of Van's siblings, or something else?"  
"No, she was with my mother..." she corrected. Long nodded, he hadn't really been sure. He had heard that Van had siblings once, but they'd died in a car crash. He couldn't remember anything else about them though, not even their sex. "but I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her since the day father took me back."  
"Ah, I see..." a tone of saddness entered his voice. "did you know her well?"  
"Not really... she was very young."  
"A shame..."  
"I am going to try to find the halfway house while we're here." she suddenly decided. "I believe it's in the same region we're heading to."  
"Did I ever ever tell you where we were headed?" Long suddenly wondered. _He was pretty sure he hadn't, and if he hadn't told her then how could she know where they were going?_  
"No, but I assumed it would be somewhere around Hong Kong since Tylon's main Chinese headquarters are there... am I right?"  
"Right on the button." he replied with a smile and a nod. He realized that he should have expected as much. Afterall she was a Tylon, and not just any Tylon, but the daughter of the last CEO and the sister of the current one. Of course she would know all about their headquarters, especially near a place where she once lived. "I suppose that would be an easy enough conclusion to reach... well we could certainly stop by it while we're there."  
"If it's ok..." she added. She really didn't want to impose or detract from his trip, but at the same time she had a desperate need to know if her sister were really there.  
"Of course, it's the least I can do."  
"Thanks." she said, smiling and tackling him with a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.  
"Oh, don't mention it. Afterall what kind of friend would I be if I denied such a simple request?"  
"Thats very true."  
"May I ask what you intend to do if you happen to find your sister?"  
"I honestly don't know..." Alica admitted. She really hadn't thought that far ahead. In fact, she hadn't thought about it at all untill Long had mentioned his own sister. It was all just a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. "I just want to see if she's even alive."  
"Alright then..." he agreed. "I guess we'll find out."  
"But first you should touch base with you parents."  
"Yes, of course. Well stop by their house first..." he quickly agreed, thinking that it wouldn't take him long at all to get thing things he needed. Then he realized that she had said 'parents'. "luckilly my father won't be there."  
"He was at the labs earlier," she remembered, "he couldn't get there this fast could he?"  
"I doubt it. He had no way of knowing we were going to leave either. And I think it's probably likely he'll stick around the lab and work. He's a workacholic you know."  
"Ugh," she groaned. "so I see."  
"He always has been." Long explained. "My father never had much time for his family... he was always working."  
"That's terrible."  
"Truthfully we were glad to have him gone, because once he got home he was always in an awful mood."  
"I forsee pictures of abuse." Long smiled sadly, and sighed at the memories.  
"Luckilly I was often able to distract him from my mother and sister. They usually would only recieve marginal beatings when compared with the ones I took."  
"You poor thing." she sympathized, cuddling into his shoulder. He returned the gesture, finding a bit of comfort in the face of the memories of his past.  
"It doesn't matter..." he replied, trying to dismiss it. "I was better able to handle it than they were. He is a coward for beating on them if you ask me."   
"Indeed." she agreed, noodding.  
"Someday soon he will pay for his stupidity." he insisted, his pain at the memories quickly turning to anger, as it often did.   
"Can't wait."  
"Neither can I..." he agreed, sporting a wicked grin. He reviewed it once more in his mind, how he would make the man suffer for all the wrongs he'd done. She caught the look on his face and started laughing, and he laughed with her, not even stopping to wonder why she'd started laughing in the first place. It was the only relief he had left, to assure himself that some day the nasty old man would get what was coming to him. Then she turned to him and smiled, and he smiled back. He completely forgot to question her about it, but simply accepted her companionship. "Unfortunately, once he's gone I'm going to have to leave." he suddenly warned. She blinked in confusion, wondering what had brought that on. "Once he's gone I take the rest of my family and go into hiding. That is my plan." She nodded a little, reluctant to accept it. "When that time comes I shall truly miss you, Alica."  
"The same can be said here." she said, with a melancholy sigh.   
"It won't be for awhile yet," he assured her. "I still have a bit of money to save up... maybe in a few years."  
"Ahh I see." this time followed by a sigh of relief.  
"I must be certain I can support them once we're out..." he elaborated. "it would be foolish to risk making an appearance."  
"Unless you want to chop your hair and get a dye job."   
"Ugh..." he groaned, grabbing his ponytail and holding it protectively. "If anyone so much as brings a pair of scissors anywhere NEAR my hair..." he purposely trailed off and then growled angrilly. She laughed at him.  
"I wish I had a camera... thats soo funny!"  
"I take great pride in my hair..." he muttered defensively.  
"I noticed."  
"Then you must have also noticed how furious I was when Fox touched it..."  
"I know, heheh..."  
"No one touches my hair." She poked at his hair, unable to resist.  
"Hey!" he cried, using his free hand to shoo hers away while still clutching his ponytail protectively with the other. She just laughed at him even more. "I meant what I said..." he replied, losing his composure in the face of her laughter. "Heheheh..."  
"Your face though, wouldn't look good with short hair." He gave her a questioning look. "It's too... long... pardon the... unintetional pun." He blinked, a bit confused.  
"Well... no one's ever going to find out what my face looks like without the hair anyway..."  
"Very true."  
"No matter what happens I'm never going to cut it."  
"I would hope you don't. I'd never recognise you then."  
"I don't think I would either." he admitted, with a good-natured grin. She smiled back. "I would say the same goes for you as well..." he added. She blinked in surprised.  
"Really?"  
"Well I certainly couldn't imagine you with short hair..." She nodded.  
"I don't intend to cut it."  
"No barber's shops for us." he said, playfully.  
"Indeed," she agreed. "though trims are necessary."  
"True..." he agreed, trailing off because he couldn't think of any more to say. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "I'm always very carefull who I trust to do the trimming... can't have anyone trimming too much you know."  
"Indeed." she agreed, poking at his hair again.  
"Stop that!" he demanded, grabbing his ponytail and flipping it over to the other side, hoping she couldn't reach it.  
"Aww, but your hair's so soft."  
"But... I don't like people touching it..." he moped, almost sounding a little whiny. "I suppose I'm being a bit obsessive... but I can't help it."  
"Awww... alright." she pounted a bit and sat back down in her seat. They were silent for a moment, content enough to keep to themselves. Alica began to wonder what it was going to be like to meet the rest of Long's family.   
"So, Long... what do your mother and sister look like?" He turned towards her and paused to consider the question for it.  
"Well, they look typically Asian I suppose. Black hair, brown eyes, light skin. There really isn't much to know. My mother and sister both have a rounder face then mine, which I obviously inherited from my father..." The last few words he'd said contained a hint of animosity before he trailed off, he obviously resented the resemblance.   
"Ahh... That makes sense." she agreed with a nod. She could remember well enough that they shared the same long face.  
"Meh..." he grumbled. "Unfortunately I do take after him a bit." Then he scowled.  
"We all have bad points... at least you make it attractive."  
"Hm... I think I'd rather be ugly than look like him, but I have little say in the matter." "But if not for him you wouldn't've inherited such good looks." she persisted.  
"I suppose I ought to be glad I'm not an exact replica." he reluctantly agreed.  
"True, there are some differences." she admitted, remembering how he looked. "I think his eyes were different."  
"Yes, his eyelids are pretty flat... another common Asian trait. My mother has nice round eyelids, like mine."  
"You've definately got his face though, and his cheekbones, and his eyebrows."  
"They're angry looking, aren't they?" he asked of the latter. "Ironically appropriate I suppose."  
"His lips are thinner." she remembered. "That combined the the eyelid thing makes him look alot less attractive than you, and more emotionless. Plus he's gotta be at least twenty years older, I noticed his hair had some grey streaks."  
"Yes, he's getting old." Long agreed. "Closer and closer to his death, but much closer than he thinks."  
"I noticed that he wears his hair the same way you do." she commented, hoping to distract him.  
"It's also quite a bit shorter in back. Not more than 4 or 5 inches past his hair tie. I must have at least a foot myself. That really bothers him you know." he snickered. "Yes, he really wishes I would cut it."  
"Oh, I see..."  
"Just one of the many reasons I'm obsessive about my hair." She impulsively reached out poke at it again. "Ah!" he cried, grabbing his ponytail and holding it protectively. "What did I just say? No touching!"   
"Aw... but it's so pretty!" She objected, reaching for it again. He pulled it farther away and petted it a bit, as though it were some kind of live animal. She sighed and sat back in her seat, giving up her pursuit of his hair.  
"Wonder when the food will arrive."  
"Yes, food sounds good to me right now..." he agreed, his stomach growling in anticipation. In a few minutes a waiter came by and took their orders for the food, Long ordered an entire meal, complete with a one-pound steak for himself. Then he asked Alica what she wanted and she ordered a turkey dinner. They sat and relaxed in silence for a few minutes while the food was prepared. And once it came Long handed Alica her tray immediately before ravenously devouring his own food. She thanked him for her food, and he simply nodded in reply and kept on eating. She stared at him a bit shocked, having never seen him eat like that.  
"When did you eat last?"  
"Uh, I'm not sure..." he replied between bites. He took another bite and chewed it down before continuing. "I think maybe last night. I never did eat breakfast or lunch."   
"Oh my... eat then." He nodded to her and kept eating, so she also returned to her meal. She finished fairly quickly, having been pretty hungry herself. As fast as Long was eating it took him even longer though, since he'd ordered so much food. He finally finished a few minutes after her and then leaned back in his seat, patting his full stomach.   
"That feels so much better..." he sighed, contentedly. "It usually doesn't bother me to go without food for a meal or two, but the past few days have been so tiring..." he trailed off and yawned. "And too much food makes me sleepy."  
"You know... this box has a fold out bed." she informed him.  
"Hm?" he mumbled, and blinked as though he hadn't heard her well. He'd never ridden first class before, so he really didn't have any idea what to expect.  
"These compartments have bed in them." she repeated.  
"I guess it's better than sleeping on a chair..." he agreed, she nodded.  
"Though I dunno if this is a single or double bed box."  
"Well, if there's only one than you can have it." he offered. "I can make do with a chair for one night."  
"Um... hate to break it to you... but... if it is a single it's a double sized bed, which means the chair is also folded up."  
"Oh..." he humbled. He didn't understand exactly what she was talking about, but he got the point quickly enough. And he obviously wouldn't want to deprive her of a bed just so he didn't have to lay on it with her... did he?  
"Yes..." she said, catching the worried look on his face. "Well, we'll make it work."  
"I suppose it's not going to be any different than cuddling on the chair..." he tried to convince himself.  
"Um, if you wanted too. All I was thinking was that we'd just stay on opposite sides... but if your that frisky..."  
"Oh no! Er... no. I think... I mean... I was just trying to..." he slapped himself across the forehead and paused for a moment, trying to get his words straight and regain his composure. Alica giggled, finding his uncertainty adorable. "I think that staying on separate sides is a good idea."  
"Alright then." she cheerfully replied, getting up from her seat and folding it flat. He did the same with his and watched carefully as she folded the bed out from the wall. It took up most of the little box they were in, there was just enough room to walk around the sides and that was it. She laid herself down on it immediately and snuggled into the sheets, patting the spot next to her. He sighed and reluctantly laid down beside her. As it was there wasn't much extra space on the bed, they both had to stay near the edges to keep falling off. Long tried to fall asleep, but afterawhile he could feel Alica rubbing up against him so he scooted a bit further to the side. Alica figured that he couldn't keep scooting much more, and snuggled into his back, pretending to be asleep. He moved over again, barely hanging on to the edge of his bed, then finally he fell down towards the crack between the bed and the floor. She found herself unable to supress a little laughter at his fall, and he turned towards her and glared.  
"You did that on purpose!" he accused.   
"Aw, relax Long. Come on, get back on the bed."   
"No, I'm going to sleep on the floor."  
"Don't be ridiculous Long, there's barely enough room between the wall and this bed to stuff a small child into."  
"I'll manage." he mumbled, trying to wedge himself sideways between the bed and the wall. The sight of him trying to stuff himself between the two was so hillarious that she couldn't help bursting into laughter over it. "Stop that! It's not funny..."  
"Why do you-ha ha ha... have to be-heh he... so stubborn Long?"  
"Alright, fine then, I'll get back on the bed."  
"You couldn't sleep on the floor if you wanted to, but you could sleep between the matress and the wall... Hahahaha!"  
"Alright, alright!" he cried, pulling himself back out. "Enough already! I'll sleep on the bed."   
"Hahahahaha..."  
"You'd better stop touching me though."  
"I think that in this bed that's inevitable." she reminded him, her laughter finally subsiding. "But if you like I could make the touching more pleasureful..." He scowled at the offer. "Alright, I'll try not to touch you. Just get back in bed, you look ridiculous." He finally climbed the rest of the way out of the crack he'd fallen into and rolled back on to the bed.  
"I haven't slept with someone in a long time, you know." he excused himself.  
"Oh... so you have slept with someone then?"  
"Not like that."  
"Who was it?"  
"Alica!"  
"Seriously, who?"  
"My sister..."  
"Oh. So you had to share beds?"  
"When we first moved into Hong Kong we were stuck in this tiny studio apartment." he explained, remembering the cramped conditions. "It was so long ago... I must've been around ten years old, my sister was four."  
"Oh..." Alica stated surprised. "so she's quite a bit younger than you." Long nodded in reply.  
"There was only one main room, a kitchen, and a bathroom-closet, so we were all sleeping in that room. My parents had a mattress on the floor on one side, and my sister and I had the same on the other side, we were only separated by a thin curtain. They would put us to bed early, but sometimes we could still hear them at night... I actually peeked at them once and saw more than I'd bargained for."  
"Oh, I see..." she replied with a laugh. "No wonder you're so paranoid then. It must've scared the hell outta you to see your parents doing that."  
"I was just old enough to know what was going on and be permanently scarred by what I saw." he added in a very serious tone that made her laugh even more. "My sister on the other hand had asked me what they were doing. 'Mom and Dad are... uh... wrestling. Yeah...' I couldn't think of anything better to say. Of course, then she had to ask me why they were doing that, which turned into this long discussion. Eventually my father heard us and yelled that we'd better go to sleep or he'd tan our hides. So we were quiet."  
"But why didn't you tell me about that earlier?" she wondered.   
"Well, it's been ten years since it happened, so it must've slipped my mind." he honestly replied. She nodded and curled up in her blankets.  
"We really ought to get some sleep before we land." she reminded him. He nodded and curled into the blankets on his side of the bed and tried to drift off to sleep. 


	18. The Search

I want to thank Ramza Lionheart for his concerns. ^_^ I know the reviews have been sloping, probably because of my pairing... *shrug* But even if some people get fed up with it, Alica will always be a valiant supporter. I don't think she'd let me quit the series in any case. (She doesn't comment here since we talk so much on IM.) I'd also like to thank Tiger for constantly watching, and you of course, Ramza, for your kindness. The series will continue, though most likely at a slower pace. I'm kinda losing momentum here, and some of the free time needed to do this sort of thing. And, to anyone concerned about the pairing, perhaps I didn't explain this well enough... IT IS TEMPORARY! ie. Long's going to see Alica for a bit because there's no one else around except Fox... Long: Ugh... Anyway, reguardless of who you think Long ought to end up with, or even if you don't think he ought to end up with anyone at all... it's a bit unrealistic to deny that during some point in his life he's going to have a girlfriend... well, unless you think he's gay I guess. But he doesn't give a particularly gay vibe off to me. Bi, maybe... but I don't see him as being gay. Look folks, they're not getting married, they're not screwing each other... hell, they're not even feeling up. So just relax, I'm not trying to set them up for good. I just think that he deserves some sort of companion to see him through his assassin days. Poor, abused Longy needs a friend. Long: Don't call me that! Oh, hush... **The Search** Long tossed and turned quite a bit that night, though he really made an effort not to bump into his companion too much. Being unused to having company in his bed, he couldn't seem to find a single position he felt comfortable in. As a result he got very little sleep. Alica on the other hand seemed to sleep quite soundly even though she did toss and turn also, and often ended up unintentionally elbowing him in the side. He got suspicious after awhile and turned over to check on her, only to find her sound asleep. So he just rolled over and tried to get some sleep for himself. When the morning came it was all too soon, and he woke up only reluctantly after a rough landing jarred him to his senses. After that they quickly retrieved their luggage and he hailed a taxi to take them to his parent's house.   
"I almost forgot how crowded it was here." Alica stated, staring out the window in astonishment. "It's been so long..."  
"It's always like this." He replied adsently, his mind still a bit groggy.   
"You look tired," she noticed. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"   
"Not as well as you did apperently." he answered, rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly. "I can't seem to keep myself awake."  
"How long until we get there?"  
"Not long, they live in the middle of the city, so it shouldn't take more than twenty mintues or so..." he yawned again and shook his head in an effort to wake himself up. "When should we go looking for your sister? And where is the... uh... what was it?"  
"You mean the halfway house I was going to look for her in?"  
"Yes, that." He muttered, shaking his head. "My apologies... I'm not quite awake yet."  
"I noticed." she admitted with a smile. "It's alright, as long as this taxi is headed in the right direction not much can go wrong... right?"  
"Uh..." he looked out the window, and cheked a few street signs. "We're fine. We should be there shortly."  
"Good." she said, smiling brightly again. "I can't wait to meet your family. I keep wondering what they're like."  
"You'll find out soon enough." He replied. After that they slipped into silence, idly gazing out the windows at the world beyond. Alica spent most of the time in silent anticipation, because most of what she was about to see was a complete mystery to her. She had a rough description of what his mother and sister looked like, but not quite enough to form an accurate picture in her mind. She also wanted to know their personalities and behavior, what the inside and out side of the place he lived looked like, and everything else that might seem like an insignificant detail to Long. Finally she was going to see the place he'd come from, and the people he'd grown up with. She imagined that if she paid attention to it, it would be like seeing a part of him that she'd never seen before. Maybe even part of the reason he was the man he was. She was going to see his home.  
After awhile they pulled up in front of a humble two-story building wedged between two others on either side. There was nothing particularly notable about it, since it was painted the same dull colors as the rest of the houses on the street and blended in quite well. There were steps and rails leading up to the front door with windows on either side. There was a bit of a roof before it went up to the second floor and another two windows appeared. Long got out of the taxi immediately and picked up his luggage while Alica looked the place over for a moment. She was about to tell him that the place looked nice, but by the time she got out of the car he was already up the steps. So gathered her bags and went to follow him, but he'd already gone through the door, leaving it open behind him. She crept towards it and peeked into the room, sighting his mother to the left, fixing something in the kitchen. She felt a bit akward entering the house by herself, but crept up the stairs anyway. At the end of the stairs was a narrow hall, and at the end of them a door stood open. She went up to it and found Long inside, setting his suitcase on the floor.   
"Nice room." she commented, looking it over. There weren't many wall decorations, just a few hangings here and there. Some were of dragons and tigers done in a lovely oriental print, but most everything was written in Chinese characters, few of which she could remeber at all. He had a twin bed in one corner, a night stand sitting next to it, and a desk and several drawers lining the other wall. He also had a small closet, which was behind her. Some of his clothing and a few magazines were strewn about the floor in a haphazard manner. More clothing hung from open drawers and spewed from the half-open closet. His desk was littered with all kinds of papers and his bed was a mess. She was actually very surprised, since he always kept his room back at Tylon so neat and clean. He sighed and collapsed on his bed, looking as though he were about to fall asleep any minute. She walked up to the bed and poked him in the shoulder.  
"What?" he mumbled.  
"Shouldn't you introduce me to your family? You know, since I'm a stranger in their house and all..."  
"I need a nap."  
"But... I just walked into the house and your mother doesn't even know who I am or why I'm here, she might think I'm some kind of stalker or-"  
"Later." he moaned, rolling over onto his stomach and cuddling his pillow.   
"Alright." she said with a sigh. He curled up on his bed, shut his eyes, and was asleep in no time. She set her bags down next to his and wondered for a minute what she was going to do while he was asleep. Then she decided to explore his room a bit. She started with the closet behind her, not wanting to search anything too close to him and risk disturbing his sleep. She carefully stepped over the clothing on the ground and peered into the dimn half-light inside the closet. As her eyes came into focus she didn't see much of interest. There was more clothing of course, in fact quite a bit of it hung from the bar that ran across it. There were also little cubicles stuffed with heavier things like coats and sweaters. One also had a few sheets and blankets for his bed, and another had wrist and ankle weights of just about every color imaginable that wasn't pastel or too bright. There were a few boxes sitting on a ledge at the top which she peeked into. She found a few throwing knives in one, and a collection of chemicals in the other, most likely to be used in poisons and sleeping potions. She quickly got bored with the closet and walked over to his drawers.  
She opened the top one first, and found an interesting arrangement of sleepwear, socks, and undergarments in it. She noticed that he had several undershirts, some soft, silk pajamas, and some very nice silk boxers. She took out on particular pair of boxers made of black silk with a dragon red screened across the front. She held it up in front of her and felt at it's softness, imagining how good it must feel against his bare skin, and then snickering at the thought of ever seeing him wearing them. _Now I can picture him wearing nothing but these, _she thought. Then she put them back and pawed through the drawer a bit more, and to her surprise, found some swimming trunks. They were very modest in style, with legs that probably reached his knees. Then again she didn't think he would be caught dead wearing anything very revealing anyway. _So, you like to go swimming Long?_ She walked back over towards his bed and looked out the back window, wondering if there was some sort of swimming pool out there. But the backyard that she found was very small, not even big enough for a hot tub really. It was sparesly populated with pretty flowers and fresh herbs though, which looked lovely. She assumed that it was most likely his mother's doing.   
She walked back over to his drawer and closed the top one, opening the next one down. A few shirts lined the sides of it, which didn't surprise her since most of his shirts were formal and required special care, such as being hung in his closet. He had very little casual wear, since he usually dressed nicely for work and didn't seem to do much else. So she checked the last drawer, to find pretty much the same thing. A few pairs of casual pants, all looking as though they hadn't been worn in ages. _All work and no play, Long?_ she thought. So she closed the last drawer and moved on to his desk. She couldn't read most of the papers on it since they were all in Chinese, but she did recognize the Tylon symbol on many of them, and even Van's signature on a few. So it was safe to assume it was all work information, proving her earlier theory. There was one drawer under the desk, which she found to be full of pens, pencils, paper, and a few other things like a stapler and a pencil sharpener. Nothing out of the ordinary really. She was starting to get bored.   
So she walked over to his night stand. There wasn't much on top, just a little lamp and a few Chinese books she couldn't read. There were even more books stashed under the stand, and a little drawer there to search as well. She opened it up and saw a few magazines in Chinese. Most of them seemed to be catalogues of some sort, selling things like weapons and clothing and other general goods. She sighed and closed the drawer, somewhat upset at having found nothing terribly out of the ordinary in his room. She cleared herself a little spot and sat down next to his bed, and then decided that she might as well search under there as well. At first the only things she dug up were socks, underwear, and more clothes. In the very back of them she found a fungus-ridden sandwitch that must've been there for ages. _Ewww, Long... Disgusting!_ She plugged her nose and used the nearest garment to pick it up and threw it in the trash can by his door. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see anymore of what might be under his bed after that. She waited for quite awhile until her curiosity got the better of her.   
Eventually it did though, so she looked under the bed one more time, and spotted something she hadn't seen before. It was a little cardboard box stuffed into the farthest corner of the space under his bed. It had been covered up by clothing, but she'd already scraped most of that out onto his floor. Now all that remained was a few more articles in her way. _Now we're getting to the good stuff, _she hoped, while removing the remaining clothing and dragging the box out from under the bed. She sat up on the floor as she finally got it free and saw a scantilly dressed woman on the cover of a magazine. _Score!_ She then opened the magazine and found that it wasn't what she'd expected. She couldn't read the characters of course, but it seemed to be some sort of lingerie magazine. She looked through and found a several more of those, and then one that appeared to be some kind of men's magazine, but still had no naked women inside though, they were all just scanitlly clad. _You really are pure Long. _She sighed and showed the box back under the bed, paying carefull attention to putting it right back in it's designated spot and covering it up with spare clothing. _Just enough evidence to prove that he's attracted to human beings and not lead pipes... I guess it could be worse. I wonder what happened to his sex drive. Will I find it buried underneath his clothing, discarded on the floor somewhere? _  
She uttered a melancholy sigh and sat back down on his floor, checking her clock for the time. She found it had only taken her about half an hour to search his room, which probably meant that she had more of a wait until he awoke from his nap. So she just sat on his floor and waited for awhile, occasionally playing around with some of the clothing lining the floor since she had nothing better to do. She found another pair of boxers that seemed to be clean amongst the rest of the rubbish and decided to lay down and cuddle it for a bit. She had nearly drifted off to sleep out of sheer boredom by the time she heard him stir around in his sleep. _Is he finally going to wake up?_ she wondered. She sat up and peeked over the edge of the bed, only to find him staring down at her.   
"What do you think you are doing cuddling with my underwear?" he demanded.  
"Ahhh!" she cried, startled. "I... uh... Well, you see... it was just laying around here on the floor and..." he gave her a critical glance. "Hey, I'm not the one who left it lying there!" Long groaned in annoyance and sat up on his bed. "Maybe if you put your underwear away once in awhile and kept it off the floor while I have to lie on it-"  
"Alright, I get the point." he interrupted. "Well, you look like you've been bored out of your mind. What have you been doing all this time?"  
"I nearly was bored to sleep a few times..." she admitted. "But I did find a few interesting things in your room."  
"Such as?" he inquired, taking a quick glance around his room in an effort to figure out if anything had been disturbed. Alica really didn't understand how he could tell the difference since it was so messy to begins with, but he obviously noticed that something was wrong because a slight frown appeared on his face.  
"Uh, well..." she looked over at his top drawer. "You like swimming?"  
"Is there something wrong with that?" he demanded.  
"You just didn't seem the type-"  
"Swimming is good excersize you know."  
"Forget I mentioned it."  
"Anything else?" he wondered, giving her that inescapable, you'd-better-tell-me-the-truth-or-else look of his.  
"Um, well..." she glanced under his bed. "I found a _really_ moldy sandwitch under your bed..."  
"And...?" he pursued, seeming a bit angry.  
"Oh, nothing." she replied, summoning her most innocent look.  
"You found my magazines! Didn't you!?!"  
"Damnit, Long! How come I always feel like you're interrogating me and I can never lie to you?"  
"Because you can't!" he insisted, the tone of his voice adding that it was futile for her to evern try. He slumped over the edge of his bed and shuffled around under it bed. A dissatisfied groan soon confirmed the fact that he realized his belongings had been disturbed. "Alica, how could you!?!" he cried, pulling himself back out fom under his bed and falling down to the floor right in front of her.  
"I... um... was just curious..." He sat up and mumbled something under his breath, a very embarrased look on his face. "Look, I promise not to tell anyone... besides, there's not even enough evidence in there to prove you have a sex drive."   
"You've got to be joking."   
"Don't you know that it's normal for men to be horny and look at naked women?"  
"I'm not normal."  
"Oh... well, yeah... that's true..."  
"Now get out of my room."  
"But, where else am I going to go? You're mother's probably about ready to kill me for invading her house."  
"Oh, right..." he muttered, shaking his head. He jumped up from his bed and headed straight for the door.   
"Hey, Long... wait!" she cried, geting up from her spot on the floor. While he walked out of the room and down the hallway. "What am I going to do while you're...?" she let her sentence drag off then, since he'd already gone down the stairs, and wasn't listening to her at any rate. "Really cordial welcome I get in this place." she sarcastically muttered to herself. 


	19. Family

**Family** Long walked down the stairs to go talk with his mother. The first thing he wanted to explain was why he was back, but as soon as he got down there she demanded to know who his guest was and why he hadn't poured her a cup of tea yet. So he walked back over to the stairway and called for her to come down, his mother casting him a dissaproving glance for raising his voice instead of walking back up.  
"Lan duo.*" she mutered in a scholding tone, before going back to her cooking.   
"Wu, juan.*" he excused himself. Meanwhile Alica came back down stairs.   
"What is it?" she asked. He lead her into the kitchen and pulled out a chair in front of a small square table for her to sit at.   
"Tea." he answered. "You can't walk into a Chinese home without being offered a cup of tea... most of the time." Then he glanced over at his mother. "I've often been told that my manners are deplorable."  
"Ah, I see..." she replied, taking her seat. Long walked into the kitchen and got a few cups and saucers to set down on the table, then he poured three cups of tea and he and his mother sat down to sip at it as well. They started talking in Chinese again once they sat down, but Alica was only able to catch a few words here and there. Not really enough to figure out what they were talking about. She noticed how they sipped their tea slowly, savoring the taste sweet of it in their mouths. She tried to keep up pace with them, and by the time the tea was done they seemed to be finished with their conversation as well. Long nodded politely to his mother and said something before getting up from the table and motioning for Alica to do the same. His mother also got up and bowed a bit before returning to her work in the kitchen. Long lead Alica back up the stairs.   
"You can't remember much about what it was like when you used to live here, can you?" he asked.  
"I was only ten when my father took me away..." she reminded him. "And once I got to Tylon he immediately had me taking all these classes in English. Just about everything I knew was quickly forgotten so I could memorize all the new information. It went on like that for nine years before he died. I guess it's a surprise I can remember anything at all. Memories of my old life all seem so distant now... and I feel like a stranger in the land where I grew up."  
"I have noticed that you've been acting like a foreigner here, which is the only reason I asked." he explained. "But although your hair is mostly white you still have a quasi-Asian appearance, and it is easy to see that you belong here."  
"You think I belong here?" she asked. "I don't know if I belong anywhere anymore, except for Tylon."  
"I suppose we both belong there." he agreed. "But that's a terrible place to belong, I don't like to think of it that way. I will always belong here, with my family." Alica nodded solemnly, wishing she could find her own family to go back to.   
"I've got to go and get some packing done now, but maybe tomorrow we can stop by that halfway house." Long offered, as though reading her mind.   
"I... I just have to know if they're still here somewhere." she added.  
"You don't have to explain yourself to me." he assured her. "The two of us are not so different really, you don't want to believe that Van is the only person left that you're related to, and I would like to forget my father. We both have a mother and sister who love us, but you have to find yours first. It must be hard for you, having been away from them for so long."  
"I can barely remember what they're like anymore." she worried.  
"You will remember once you see them again." he said, patting her shoulder. She gave him a smile and they both continued walking towards his room. Long insisted that she go first up the narrow passageway and when they were almost there the door next to him opened and he was ambushed by his sister. She rushed right into him, throwing him off balance and nearly onto the floor. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she held him tightly as he struggled to right himself and brushed off his clothing. "That was unexpected." he complained. "Mei mei..." She got off of him and asked where he'd been and why he'd been gone so long as Alica curiously watched from his bedroom doorway. It was all in Chinese of course, which Alica didn't seem to understand. He explained himself a bit while looking over at Alica, and his sister noticed her as well and started asking all sorts of questions about why she was there.   
"What's she saying?" Alcia asked.  
"She's teasing me." Long grumbled. "She says you're my girlfriend." Alica snickered a bit at the comment. "It's not funny..." he insisted, trying to explain the situation to his sister. She didn't listen though, and kept insisting that there was no other reason to bring someone to their house. Then he told her that Alica was a co-worker, but she still insisted that he needed a girlfriend, subtly nodding towards Alica while making the suggestion. Long shook his head in frustration.   
"What is it now?" she prompted.   
"She says I need a girlfriend." he explained, his sister interrupted him with another comment. "Badly." he added, giving her an annoyed look of resentment.  
"Maybe she's right." Alica teased.   
"I would have to disagree..." he mumbled, at which his sister picked up her teasing again.   
"You should listen to your sister, Long. She's obviously concerned for you."  
"Knock it off!" he cried, turning to Alica. "You are humiliating me!" then he turned to his sister said that she was as well, which confused her since she didn't know what he was talking about because he'd used English. He shook his head, sighed, and brushed past Alica to get back into his room. Alica stood there for a moment, looking at the dissapointed look on his sister's face and shrugged.   
"Sorry mei mei." she said, immediately the girl started laughing. She heard a bit of snickering from behind her in Long's room as well, she turned to question him. "What did I say?"  
"That's not her name, Alica." Long answered, sitting on top of his bed with a mirthful smirk across his face. "You must have forgotten nearly everything you ever knew if you can't remember that mei mei means little sister."  
"So... I just called her my little sister?" Alica assumed, turning back towards the laughing girl. "Heh... sorry." Long's sister continued to chuckle a bit before dissapearing back into her room.   
"I don't suppose you used the expression much." Long decided. "Since your own younger sister was so much younger than you were when you left, you couldn't have known her for long."  
"I used to just call her bao bei... baby." Alica remembered, surprised that she'd remembered that much. "I'm not even sure if I can remember her name."  
"You will remember when you see her again." he assured. Then he got up from his bed and opened his suitcase, which she noticed not was almost empty. After thinking about it, it made sense. He wouldn't need to pack any clothes if he was going home to get more clothing to bring to his dormitory at Tylon. He cleared an area and sat down on his floor, picking up and examining one piece of clothing at a time and dividing them into two piles, one clean and one dirty. She sat down on the bed and watched him for a while, looking around the room disinterestedly and trying to remember anything she could about her own lost family.   
The first thing that came to her mind was her abduction to Tylon, and how her father forced her to take so many classes and stuff her mind with information. It had all happened so quickly, and it seemed so long ago. She wasn't sure she could remember anything about her old family at all. She knew her father had a purpose for the teaching, and suspected that it had been to train her for something, but what was it? It was so easy to suspect him of using all those classes to cloud her mind, to make her forget about her old family so she would never want to go back. Still, she didn't really suspect him of that. She didn't think he would have done such a thing intentionally, though unwittingly perhaps. Her father had been a good man, perhaps not the best, but he had played fairly. He was nothing like the monster Van had become once he'd gotten control of the company. It was a shame he had been killed, but who had killed him? Alica often wondered if she really could have done it. She was certain she would never be capable of such a thing, but there was always a shred of doubt.   
Recent events came to her mind immediately, though she willed them away they plagued her until she was forced to accept their presence. In her heart she knew she was crazy without her medications. She couldn't help what she did when she didn't have them, and she hated to depend on them. She had stopped taking them once just a short while ago, and ended up attacking Long, her good friend. She looked down at him for a moment while considering the consequences, she hadn't really hurt him afterall... but Long was a skilled assassin, who had easilly evaded and countered her attack. How much worse would it have been, or had it been, if she had done the same to her own father? She shook her head to clear the thought, unwilling to admit that the conclusion was even a little bit possible. _I did not kill my own father!_ To some extent at least, she had a good reason to believe so. Although bringing her to Tylon in the first place had initiated the process of going insane, she hadn't been nearly as bad back then as she grudgingly realized she was now. But had she been crazy enough to murder her own father?  
"Alica, if you're bored you can go downstairs and entertain yourself." Long offered, interrupting her thoughts. "Now that you've been introduced no one will mind if you make yourself at home here. Both my mother and sister want you to feel very welcome."  
"Thanks, but... I think I'll just stay here." she answered. He picked up on a hint of sadness in her voice and turned to look up at her.  
"Alica... perhaps it was a bad idea to bring you here. Seeing my family makes you miss your own."  
"I can't even remember them Long, how can you miss something you can't even remember?"  
"Your lonely heart yearns for the love of the people you once knew, I can see it plainly on your face. You don't need to remember what they were like to wish that you still had them here to call your own."  
"Long..." she trailed off, her throat tightening with the emotion she felt. He was right of course, at least about this, he was completely right. He put down his work and climbed up on the bed in front of her, bending down to kiss her gently on the forehead.   
"What I'm doing now is not so important that it can't wait. If it will make you feel any better, we can leave now and go out looking for your lost family."  
"Yes... thank you." she replied. Those were the only words she was able to get out of her mouth as she sniffled and rubbed her eyes. She didn't want to cry again. She wrapped her arms around Long and held him close for a moment, then she let go and he helped her up off the bed. They went down stairs and Long gave a brief explanation to his mother, along with requesting the use of her car. Her consent was given easilly enough and they left right away. Alica tried her best to guide him through the streets. She did actually have the address of the place she was looking for, but that didn't help with directions. The city was enormous and the streets very numerous and confusing. Finally she ended up just giving Long the address to see if he could find it any better. Even then it took them quite awhile to find the place, a little halfway house crowded between other buildings along a fairly peaceful street. Alica and Long both got out of the car and stared at it for a minute. She walked up to the door, her heart filled with so much hope and expectation. Only to be crushed when she found that the place was deserted, as well as a note on the front door condemning the building.   
"I'll never find them now." she said quitely, to herself. She felt a strong hand grip her shoulder in response. "How can I remember them if I never see them again?"  
"Alica..." he trailed off, his voice full of concern. She turned from the building and buried herself in his chest, sobbing.  
"I'll never..."   
"Shh..." he stood there and held her, patting her back and feeling useless because there was nothing else he could do. He blamed himself of course, if he hadn't have made such a big deal about her remembering them once she saw them again it might not have been as bad. Most likely, they should have expected something like this. It had been ten years afterall, and no one stayed in one place for ten years anymore. He felt deplorable for getting her hopes up so high, when instead he should have kept his mouth shut and realized that the chances of finding her family were indeed very slim. She sobbed into his chest for several minutes until the pain died down. She felt as if she would die, as if all the hope she'd ever had were dead. She felt useless and lonely without a real family to call her own. The only comfort she found, was in the embrace of her friend. When she was finally able to wipe away her own tears they started walking back to the car. She turned and took one last look at the place before she left, and then turned back away, never to set eyes on the building again.   
Long drove them right back to his mother's house, keeping a constant eye on Alica to make sure she was alright. He didn't really fathom what it was like to actually lose your entire family, though it had been something he'd been dreading ever since he came to work for Tylon. He'd done everything he could to prevent it. Even if it meant sacrificing his own soul and the lives of so many people, he could not bear to see them hurt. Sometimes he still wondered if the sacrifices he'd made were worth it, but if he ever doubted himself all he had to do was look into the eyes of his mother and sister, and remember how precious they were to him. He felt it was his duty, and his alone to save them from the horrible fate constantly looming over their heads. His father couldn't save them, he couldn't even save himself. All he ever did was cause anyone more pain. He had been with Tylon from the beginning anyway, he had been the very reason they were all caught up in the monsterous company's grasp. The man could never be trusted.  
He looked back at Alica again and wondered what it must be like to know that her family was gone, and that she'd never see them again. He consoled himself with the thought that they might still be alive somewhere, and thought about doing the same for her, but something in her eyes told him that his reassurances wouldn't help now. It was different with him, if anything ever happened to his family they would most likely be dead. He hated to think what would happen if he somehow managed to fail them. They were the entire reason for his persistance, the only thing keeping him going, keeping him alive. If they were gone then he was dead as well. He had already decided that if anything ever did happen to them he certainly wouldn't be able to continue in his work. He couldn't do it only to save his own worthless life. He supposed he would die one way or another, perhaps by the hands of Tylon for disobeying his orders. If he tried to quit he would certainly be hunted down.   
He glanced back at Alica again, wondering if she felt the same way. Her family was gone, but they could still be alive. She could do nothing to find them, but that didn't mean they were in danger. He didn't know if Van knew much about her family, and assumed that after her father had passed most of the knowledge about them had passed as well. So Van couldn't use them against her, and even if he could he really didn't need to. He already had her under his control, subject to his command in order to save herself from whatever fate awaited. There were fates worse than death at Tylon, and he supposed that she'd rather become a killer than be turned over to the labs as a test subject. He wouldn't let the same happen to himself, but he wouldn't keep killing either. He had already decided that he'd kill himself before becoming one of Tylon's guinea pigs. When they finally arrived back home Long parked the car and went to open the door for Alica, gently helping her out. She looked completely dead to the world, her face shrouded in a blank look devoid of feeling. It was then that he chose to try and comfort her.  
"They could still be alive you know, they probably just moved somewhere else."  
"Yes..." she nodded despondently and sighed. "but I'll never find them."  
"As long as they're alive there's still a chance."  
"Not if I can't even remember their names."  
"But at least you can take comfort in the hope that they're still out there."  
"I suppose..." He sighed and took her hand, leading her back up to the house. He gave his mother a brief greeting as they entered and then went straight up to his room. He didn't see the use of moping around about things when there was work to be done, so he immediately went back to looking through his clothes. He also took care to involve Alica in the task, asking her to fold the clean cothing and set it in his suitcase. It really wasn't much of a job, but it was just enough to kep her busy, and maybe distract her from thinking too much. After awhile she realized what he was doing and was thankfull for it, even if it didn't help her much it was still very considerate of him. She showed her appreciation by doing the best job she could, folding the clothing neatly and arranging it in distinct categories inside the suitcase for him. They spent hours going through his clothes and soon the suit case was full, at which point he brought out another and they proceeded to load it up as well. By the time his mother came up to call them to dinner she figured he had more than enough clothes to see him through several years at Tylon, as long as he did his laundry.  
Dinner was fairly quiet. Long and his mother and sister only talked a litle bit, while Alica said nothing at all. She felt it was useless to talk on all accounts. For one thing, she couldn't even say anything to anyone besides Long, and for another she was too gloomy to talk anyway. Even if she had anything to say, it probably would've only made the situation even worse. When the meal was finished Long excused them both and they went quietly back up to the room. He was talking to her about something, but she could barely hear his words, lost in the depressing thoughts that clouded her weary mind. He lead her to the door and she stood there dumbly and watched as he quickly made his bed, and then allowed him to lead her to it and lay her down. She hardly felt his soft kisses on her forehead, or the warmth of his body as he wrapped his arms around her. Yet it seemed that his touch was the only thing holding her, tying her down to this world as her thoughts wandered off into oblivion. Before she knew it he was gone. She was laying down on his bed alone, in the dark.  
  
*Lazy.  
*No, tired. 


	20. Love is a Saving Grace

**Love is a Saving Grace** Long awoke in the morning when he rolled off the couch and onto the floor. He groaned and mumbled a bit, and then tried to stretch and cried out in pain as his back made a very audible snapping noise.   
"Miserable woman. I hope she appreciates what I'm doing for her." He moaned and groaned pitifully and did more stretches, trying to relieve the sharp ache in his spine. "Damn couch... I knew I never should have brought her here in the first place!" He groaned again and started up the stairs, only to find his sister standing there giggling at him and scolding him for being so grumpy in the morning, 'like always'. He hastily told her to leave him alone, and then walked past her to his room. He opened the door carefully, trying not to make a sound. He made very little noise and was sure he hadn't awakened Alica, but she seemed to be awake nonetheless. She was lying in the same position he'd laid her down in the night before, staring blankly up at the ceiling. It made him wonder if she'd ever slept at all. He quickly crossed the room and knelt down by the side of the bed, watching her with concern clearly mirrored on his face. He gently took her hand in his own, and ran his other hand across her forehead, to make sure she didn't have some kind of fever, and she didn't.   
"Alica, why don't you get up now?" he asked, wondering if she was even listening. "Lying around like this, it isn't good for your-" he stopped himself there, contemplating what he'd intended to say. Perhaps that it wasn't good for her mental health, or sanity? But it wouldn't do any good to mention such things right now; he didn't want to chance saying anything that might offend her. He patted her hand a bit before getting up; assuring her that he'd be back. He went down to the kitchen and made her a nice hot cup of herbal tea and then brought it up to the room. Once there he gently slid one hand underneath her and helped her to a sitting position before handing her the tea, cautioning that it was still hot. She looked down at it as he set it between her fingers, seemingly barely aware that it was there although she must have felt it's warmth. "This is all my fault." Long assumed. "I never should have-" She set one hand on his arm, interrupting his speech with her touch.   
"It's not your fault Long. Maybe, if I wasn't so hopeful..." she let it trail off, unable to finish the sentence.   
"There, you see?" he said, shaking his head in shame and regret. "I never should have gotten your hopes up like that. If anyone is to blame-" She threw her free arm around him then, hugging him close and trembling, also losing a battle to keep the tea cup from spilling all over her lap. He reached out to steady her, one hand wrapping around her back and the other underneath her own, preventing the cup from falling. They held the embrace for a moment before Alica was able to pull back and sit herself up. She carefully steadied her shaking, calming enough to be able to take a sip of the tea without spilling. She sighed as the bittersweet liquid drained down her throat, bringing warmth and comfort.   
"Thank you for this." she said, lifting the tea cup in reference to it.   
"It's not a problem." he replied, smiling up at her sadly. He was still worried of course.   
"I can see why you like this so much." she commented, glancing down at the cup. "It's very comforting, even to crazy people like me."   
"I never said you were crazy."   
"You were thinking it." she stated. "I'm used to it, you know. The way people look at you when they think you're completely insane. You've looked at me that way before... but you never said anything bad about me. I really appreciate that." She finished her sentence and took another sip of the tea, allowing it's warmth and smooth flavor to soothe her again. Long slipped one hand over her arm, and she looked over at his sorrowful and worried expression. "You're right, I am crazy." she admitted. Long looked like he wanted to protest, but she shook her head to stop him because she wasn't done yet. "I'm so crazy that if I don't take my medication I'll run wild and attack everything in sight. I attacked you, and I've attacked others before. Maybe I even killed my own father, and I don't even know it..." she trailed off and took another sip of her tea. "I'm dangerous." she finished. "I'm just as bad as everyone else at Tylon."   
"Your very admission proves you wrong Alica." he disagreed. "Think of Fox and Bakuryu and all the other murderers working for Tylon. Do you think any of them would ever admit that they're wrong for what they're doing? Never! They're proud of it; they brag about it every chance they get. Perhaps they're not completely sane, but they know well enough what they're doing. From what I know of you, Alica, I am certain that you would never enjoy committing such a vile act while fully lucid."   
"Maybe..." she replied, taking another steadying sip of the tea.   
"At any rate you're more sane than I am." he added.   
She chuckled in ridicule of the comment. "More sane than you are?" He didn't know what it was like to have to take medication everyday or run the risk of completely losing control over his mind. He didn't understand what it was like to turn into some wild beast that attacked everything in sight. "You must be joking." He still had control over himself, so how could he possibly understand? Then she shook her head in disagreement.   
Long's gaze turned towards the floor, as though he were contemplating something. He'd never really considered opening up to anyone about the problems he was having, in fact it was like pulling teeth just to realize that they were there. He could tell Alica that he was losing it, that he was beginning to enjoy the killing as a form of releasing his anger. He could also tell her how he often completely lost control when he went into a rage, morphing into his beast form and killing everything in his path. But he wasn't ready to confess such things even to himself, let alone anyone else. In any case, he assured himself that proving to her that he was going crazy wouldn't help her feel any better about her own situation. It wouldn't accomplish his goal, so there was no reason for it. So he decided to change the subject a bit.   
"You had plenty of reason to be upset yesterday." he excused her. "You were let down, but it's not your fault that you can't find your family."   
"True..." she reluctantly conceded, draining her cup of tea. She'd been watching him of course, and noticed that there was certainly something on his mind. "I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this Long."   
"It was none of your doing." he disputed, taking the empty cup from her hand. "Believe me, if I didn't want to be involved with you at all then I wouldn't be, and you certainly wouldn't be here at my family's house. It's no fault of yours." She nodded despondently, knowing that it would be foolish to do otherwise. Long then offered her his hand and she took it, allowing him to help pull her off the bed and onto her feet. "Perhaps it's best if we simply gather the things we need and leave as quickly as possible." he suggested.   
"Don't leave early on my account, if you want to stay here." Alica requested. "There's no hurry to get back to Tylon. Even in my present state I'm better off anywhere else but there."   
"Alright." he agreed with a nod, wondering where else they could go. She was right about Tylon; there was no reason to go back there any sooner than they possibly had to, but he didn't want to force her to stay with his family too long either. He was sure it would only deepen the wounds she felt about losing her own family, and he didn't want that. He supposed that he could possibly take her out somewhere, but he felt it would be ludicrous timing for any kind of leisure outing. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door, so he went to answer it and found that his sister had come to announce that it was time for breakfast. He replied that they'd be down in a minute and helped Alica up from her bed. "Do you feel like eating breakfast?" he asked, still watching her with concern.   
"I... am a little hungry." she admitted, allowing him to take her hand and lead her down the stairs. They sat down at the table with Long's sister and his mother arrived shortly with enough boiled eggs and noodles for all. They waited patiently until everyone had their food to start eating. Alica picked up the chop sticks and started eating slowly before her appetite finally kicked in. Long's mother and sister started talking about something, but Long was busy eating and didn't seem involved in it at all.   
"I had a dream last night." she stated, getting tired of sitting around in an uncomfortable silence. He sighed, relieved that she actually had gotten some sort of rest the night before. His mouth was full of noodles, so he turned towards her and nodded to show that he was listening. "I think I had it because we visited their old house the other day, I think it might mean something." She paused to check if he was paying attention and found him looking back at her. "It was a bit strange..." she admitted, looking off into the distance. He took a sip of tea to wash down the noodles and kept his attention on her.   
"I will listen to it if you'd like to talk." he offered.   
She nodded and continued her story. "I dreamed that these people were invading my house, trying to kill my family. They were all Zoanthropes, and my mother and I hid my little sister in her room and tried to fight them off." She stopped for a moment, reviewing the dream in her mind and thinking of the best words to describe what happened next. "Their leader was this huge lion Zoanthrope, my mother went over to fight him herself, but she... wasn't strong enough... and she died. He killed her." She paused again, remembering the horror she'd felt in her dream as she watched her mother's bloody, lifeless body fall to the floor. Long gently patted her on the back, urging her to continue. "I was so angry. I felt the anger swirling inside of me, as though it were alive and I felt like I was being consumed by it's fire." she stopped, reliving this feeling as well as she glared up at her mother's killer. "Then I morphed, for the first time. I was only ten."   
"That is a bit earlier than most." Long conceded. "If I remember correctly it is always painful, the first time."   
"I ran up to him, jumped onto his face, and scratched one of his freakin' eyes out!" she growled. Long's mother and sister looked up from their conversation, wondering what she was yelling for. He briefly made some excuse about the fact that she was unable to find her family, and they both gave her genuinely sympathetic glances before returning to their breakfasts and their own conversation. Alica quieted down some, thankful for their compassion even though she felt she didn't deserve such kindness from people she barely knew.   
"What happened after that?" Long asked, seeming sincerely interested in the dream.   
"He threw me off of him and howled in pain." she remembered. "Then I ran, because the others were coming, starting to circle around me. The only way I could run was upstairs, so I ran to my sister's room. I was going to pick her up and leave, maybe jump out the window if I had to. But they were following me... and she was afraid of my beast form. She started crying and they found us. I tried to morph back so that my sister could recognize me, but I wasn't sure how. So I turned to attack the others, knocking a few out before I finally ran out of energy and morphed back. I went to her, she was too busy crying to notice who I was. They were about to attack us again when the leader came and ordered them back. It must've been the lion Zoanthrope in human form, but I couldn't be sure because I hadn't seen him before. He said something about not turning into baby killers, and then they all left. I wanted to go after him, but I had to stay with my sister."   
"It is an odd dream." he agreed. "Do you think it may have actually happened?"   
"I don't know." she admitted, shaking her head. "The scary thing is that I might not remember even if it did. You'd think someone would remember something like that."   
"If something like that did happen it may be more likely that your father brainwashed you." Long suggested. "He wouldn't want you to have such disturbing memories of your past while residing with him."   
"Maybe..." she admitted, having never really considered the possibility before. "I hope I'm wrong though. I hope they're both still alive somewhere... because if they're not, then what would've happened to my sister? Do you think my father just took me away and left her alone in an empty house with my mother's dead body, or that he dropped her off at an orphanage somewhere?!"   
"I think it's useless to worry about something you have no proof of." he replied, secretly thinking to himself that such doubts would be all the more reason for her father to brainwash her.   
"You're right, of course." she grudgingly admitted, turning back towards her breakfast and playing with her noodles.   
"I think that unless we find any proof of this, it's best to simply consider the entire ordeal nothing more than an extremely disturbing nightmare."   
"It sure feels as though it really happened." she finished. There was silence after that as they both went back to eating. Long's mother and sister kept talking for awhile and soon they were all finished with breakfast. Long excused himself and Alica from the table and they went back up to his room to continue packing. It was a particularly dull task today; having already inspected most of his belongings Alica didn't see anything even remotely interesting anymore. Her mind wandered as she folded up his clothes and organized various items in his suitcase. She couldn't get the dream out of her head, it had all felt so real and she was convinced that it meant something. She just couldn't figure out what that meaning might be. She still held to the belief that the dream hadn't actually happened, hoping against all odds that her family was alive and well even though she had no idea where they would be.   
After several hours they stopped for lunch, eating a modest meal that Long had cooked before resuming the activity. There wasn't much left to pack at that point, and they finished their work quickly. They'd just barely gotten downstairs and sat down on the couch by the time Long's mother and sister got home from work and school. Long's sister seemed pleased to find him downstairs and gave him a great big hug as soon as she'd set her backpack down. He smiled down at her lovingly and petted her head. Alica studied the expression on his face as he did so, and thought that it had been the first time she'd seen him look so happy and peaceful. Her own heart ached for that sort of love, and for just a moment of time with her real family.   
After a moment Long's sister pulled back a little bit, then reached over to tickle his underarm. With a shout of surprise he pulled to the side and launched a counter-attack, tickling her side. Their mother smiled as she watched them play, a sort of melancholic smile that suggested such moments came much less often than they once had. Then she walked off into the back rooms. Meanwhile the play-fight continued. Long could have easily overpowered his sister at any point and ended the entire thing, but instead he allowed her to keep making lunges at him while he carefully dodged to the side, drawing her away from the furniture and out into the open floor. Finally he stopped dodging and took the full force of her tickling, pretending to be overcome by her. He tumbled to the floor and raised his hands, waving them in a motion of surrender. She laughed and softly kicked at his side, scolding him for letting her win so easily. He sighed, got up, and stretched his back. Then he walked over to the couch and sat back down by Alica.   
"You know, I never did get your sister's name." she pointed out.   
"It's Song." he replied absently, watching her as she looked through her backpack and got out a book, a pencil and some papers. She set them on the coffee table and then sat down next to her brother, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. It was all in Chinese of course, so Alica couldn't understand much of it at all. At the very least it was something to watch, and a bit better then sitting around doing nothing at any rate. Long's sister proceeded to do her homework, occasionally looking up from it to glance at some sort of drama that was on the TV. Eventually Long got tired of the program they were watching and changed the channel. By the time his sister next looked up from her work a news program was on. She complained and changed the channel back of course, which started a bit of an argument with both of them tugging at the remote. Eventually their mother yelled at them to knock it off and Song regained control of the remote, setting it back on her channel. Long sighed in dismay and shook his head.   
"What's so bad about whatever she's watching?" Alica wondered.   
"It's a soap opera." he explained, making a face. "As if I don't have enough drama in my life already." Alica laughed at his comment. They had no choice but to sit through several minutes of the soap opera while Song did her homework. "If you ask me I ought to get control of the TV since she's busy doing her homework." Long complained at one point. Alica just shrugged in reply. As soon as his sister was done with her homework he stole the remote back, so she just packed up her work and put it away while talking with their mother about something. Alica watched as they discussed whatever it was, and after awhile asked Long about something as well. She wondered what the conversation was about, but was too polite to butt in.   
"How would you like to go out shopping?" Long asked.   
"It would be nice to get out and do something." she admitted.   
"My mother and sister invited you to come along with them, they said you looked bored."   
"Aren't you going?"   
"I don't do shopping." he informed, deliberately turning his attention back to the TV.   
"I wouldn't really feel comfortable going alone."   
"You won't be alone, they're going with you."   
"But I can't even speak the same language!"   
"You'll get along fine... besides you were just saying that it would be nice to get out, right?" Alica sighed in resignation, realizing that it was useless to argue the point with him any further. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable with his mother and sister, but she was afraid of doing or saying something wrong. She just didn't know how to communicate with them at all, and she thought she'd much rather stay home if Long wasn't coming as well. Judging from his reaction to the idea though, he wasn't budging from the couch. _How typical, _she thought. Long quickly told his mother that Alica would be joining them, and shoved her off the couch as they headed for the door. She glanced back at him, still looking a little unsure about it. "Don't worry; they'll take good care of you."   
"Alright...." Alica replied, hesitantly walking towards the door. Long's mother was there, waiting for her to exit before locking the house back up. Song was waiting at the car as she got out, motioning for her to sit up in the front next to her mother. Alica smiled to thank her before sitting down. She stared out the window in a dream-like trance, still feeling more than a bit awkward at being left alone with Long's family members. Soon they stopped off at what looked to be a large department store. Things went pretty smoothly at first, Song was picking out supplies she needed for school.   
They put a bunch of paper, pencils, folders, and other such things into the cart before moving on to the clothing section. Alica just sort of followed them around, glancing about the store. While Long's mother and sister looked at some of the girl's clothes she wandered into the ladies section and looked at a few dresses. She couldn't read any of the tags of course, but it didn't matter since she didn't have any Chinese currency. Eventually they caught up to her, having purchased a few articles of clothing themselves already. After having a chat with her mother, Song pointed towards the dressing rooms, trying to signal Alica to go and try a few things on. Alica shook her head. "I don't have any money." she explained. Song didn't seem to understand, and signaled a few more times before taking Alica by the arms and pulling her towards the fitting rooms.   
Alica reluctantly tried on a few dresses, upset that she wouldn't be able to buy them. She went out and modeled each of them for Long's mother and sister. They cheered and nodded their approval of a few of the good ones, and Alica concluded that it wasn't such a bad idea after all. When it was all over she went to hang them up on the reject rack, but Song stopped her. She picked out a few of the dresses, holding them up as though asking Alica to pick one. Alica didn't really understand what was going on, but she picked out her favorite anyway. Song then lead her back towards her mother's cart and motioned for Alica to put her dress in it. "You're offering to pay for it?" she asked, even though she knew they didn't understand English. They smiled and nodded their heads anyway, and she smiled back, touched by their generosity. She couldn't wait to get it back and show Long.   
  
Back at the house Long was busy cleaning. He'd already picked up most of the junk off the floor of his room in the process of packing it up, so he went through the process of cleaning everything else. He sorted through his desk and packed up anything important; he checked his closet and drawers and cleaned them up as well. He even cleaned out underneath his bed, disposing of most of the trash lying there and wondering what he ought to do about his little box of dirty magazines. He could put them back where they were, but the problem was that someone knew that location now. He thought about hiding them in his closet, but he couldn't think of a place to put them where they'd be completely safe. _I'm not gonna rent a goddamn safety deposit box for this junk,_ he complained to himself. Finally he decided to just take it with him. He figured that it would be safer around him than if he left it anywhere... at least, that was his excuse anyway. In the back of his mind he knew he wanted them somewhere close by in case he felt the urge to look.   
As soon as he'd finished sneaking it into one of his suitcases he heard the sound of the car pulling up in their driveway. He made his way downstairs as he heard the engine die and the car doors open, and by the time they'd reached the front door he was standing there waiting for them. They walked in the door with a bunch of shopping bags, a smile shining one Alica's face. Long smiled back, happy that she'd enjoyed the trip as much as he'd hoped she would. She took her dress out of the bag and proudly held it up for him to see. "I knew you'd enjoy yourself." He commented, briefly looking over the dress even though he wasn't really interested in it.   
"Nobody's ever taken me shopping before." she explained. "Let alone somebody who's almost a complete stranger…. They're both so sweet. You're really lucky to have them, Long."   
"I know." he replied, turning to watch them unpack their bags. He couldn't help but think and of the price he paid for them. He knew that some would criticize what he was doing and tell him that protecting them wasn't worth the lives of so many, but they were so dear to him that he couldn't bear even as much as the thought of letting them go. _Every drop of blood I shed for you is worth it._


	21. Somebody New

**Somebody New**

The next morning Alica awoke to the sound of someone shuffling about the room. She yawned and stretched, and opened her eyes to see Long standing over his suitcases, which were all lined up as though ready to go.

"What's going on?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"My father's coming home." He stated solemnly, looking over the suitcases. "He took off yesterday and he'll be here sometime this afternoon."

"So I guess you don't want to be here when he gets back, right?"

"I took the liberty of bumping our tickets up to leave this morning. We've only got a few hours before we take off, so I suggest you make yourself ready." Alica sighed and climbed out of bed. "I know you didn't want to go back this soon, but I don't know where else we could go. We're going to be carrying an awful lot of my luggage around and I think it's best if we take it straight to our destination."

"Is there anyway I could possibly take a shower before we leave?"

"Of course." He nodded, motioning to the nearest bathroom out in the hall. "Just remember to take a change of clothing in there and lock the door behind you." She went over to her suitcase and rummaged around, picking herself a clean outfit before heading into the bathroom. Meanwhile Long went down into the kitchen an made some breakfast.

Once Alica was all dressed and ready she checked the time, finding that it wasn't quite as early in the morning as she had thought. When she went downstairs she found that they were alone, Long's mother and sister had most likely already gone off to work and school. They ate their breakfast hurriedly, as Long seemed very anxious to leave the house before his father got home. When they were done they went straight out to the airport and boarded the plane.

"Well, it looks like we've managed to evade your father."

"Looks like it."

"It was kind of a shame to leave so soon, I was just starting to get to know your family." He nodded absently, still in a bit of a mood. "It only takes mentioning your father to get you all riled up, doesn't it?"

"I will not live under the same sky with him."

"But the sky's pretty much the same all over the world."

"It's a Chinese expression, bu gong dai tian. It means that I will not tolerate his presence. It's an insult of sorts."

"Ah..." Alica nodded, settling back into a comfortable silence.

The rest of the trip passed rather lazily, one uneventful hour passing into another without notice. They both took naps at one point or another, but even so they were very tired by the end of the day, when they finally got off the plane and drove back home. Long insisted on carrying all of his suitcases at once, while Alica only took her own. She went on ahead of him and pressed the button to the elevator, once they were at their floor he made off for his dorm quite quickly, leaving her to follow behind. He somehow managed to get out his keys and unlock the door before allowing all of his luggage to just collapse on the floor.

After that he proceeded to take them into his room a few at a time, making a couple trips instead of carrying them all. Once he was done he opened up his first suitcase and started unpacking, grumbling to himself about how long it was going to take to unpack everything and how tired he was. He didn't even understand why he was so tired, except maybe for the usual jet lag, combined with the boredom of sitting around and doing nothing all day.

Back in her dorm, Alica had unpacked all her bags already. After that she wandered over to Long's dorm to check on him, knowing that he had much more luggage than she did and anticipating that he might need some help. He agreed to let her help quickly enough, so she sat down beside him and helped him pile some folded clothes up in his drawers. As she did so she noticed that he looked awfully tired. It didn't take much to convince him to lie down while she finished putting his clothes away for him.

While going through one of his suitcases she was surprised to find his little box of dirty magazines stashed between several layers of clothing. She took it out of the bag, glancing over at the bed to see if he was watching. He looked like he was already asleep, and she assumed that he'd completely forgotten about the magazines. She just shrugged and dragged them over to the bed, stuffing them underneath. The sound made him stir, and then roll over to see what was happening.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting away your magazines." She explained with a smirk.

He groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of those things am I?"

"I don't know what you're so embarrassed about, there's not even anything pornographic in there. Most people have much worse stuffed under their beds."

"Even you?"

She smirked to herself. "Do you really want to know?"

"I used to think that people grew out of pornography once past the age of... mmm... about eighteen or so."

"Nah, try fifty." He rolled back over and pulled the blankets over himself while Alica went back to putting his clothing away. Soon enough he began snoring, so she finished her work and then went back to her own dorm to get ready for bed herself.

In the morning when Long woke up he headed straight to the shower, intent on washing the sweat of the night off of his body in preparation for his duties that day. He quickly undressed and stepped into the stream, sighing as the soothing warm water poured over his skin. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be in Van's shoes for the rest for the vacation, relieved just to have the man gone. It would be nice to let go of his paranoia of the man for awhile, even if it were simply to allow him to be himself around those he cared for, like Alica.

He knew it was a miracle that he'd even been able to take her to meet his family in the first place. If Van hadn't been out on vacation he certainly would have forbade it, aside form the fact that they hadn't touched each other the entire time. _Van is entirely overprotective about her. I still believe there's something more to that than either of them are letting on. Perhaps they're in denial. _He finished washing up and then put on his clothes, brushing his hair and getting himself ready for the day ahead.

He decided that he would stop by Alica's dorm before he set out for the office. Being the half-sister of the CEO would certainly have some benefits, and he hoped that she would be able to help him with his duties. He went over and knocked on her door, and together they went on to the office, where Van had left a folder full of detailed instructions. As Long set down in the luxurious leather chair behind Van Tylon's desk a shiver of thrill ran up his spine. Despite his loathing of the man, and the entire organization as well, being in a position of such power was quite tempting.

He picked up the folder, opened it up and read the first page, frowning dismally at it's contents. "Alica... I was supposed to start an inspection of the entire building an hour ago. I only have fifteen minutes until I have to start giving out assignments to the other assassins!"

"We'd better get going then, hadn't we? Maybe I can take half the building and you can take the other half."

"Alright." Long agreed with a nod. "You take the bottom half and I'll take the top, we'll meet back here as soon as were done." With that they both flew out of the room, Alica going over the floor they were on while Long took the elevator up. He looked over his half of the building as quickly as possible, skipping the top floor because it was Van's personal quarters. They both arrived back in the room with mere moments to spare, Long collapsed in the chair behind the desk and Alica offered to summon the assassins to the room. As it turned out, Fox was first.

"Oh, this is rich." He stated upon seeing Long sitting back in Van's leather chair. "So he left the place to you for the week, eh? I knew he had a thing for you."

"Put a sock in it, Hans. As long as I'm sitting in this chair I'm the boss around here, and you'll treat me no differently than you would Van himself."

"In that case... what's on the agenda today, govnah?" Long groaned in annoyance and shuffled through the piles of paper and folders on his desk, before briefly looking over Fox's assignment for the day and then stuffing the folder into his hands.

"There, now get out of my office!"

"That's no way to treat a valued employee!" Fox scolded, leaving the room nevertheless.

"Should I call Bakuryu in next?" Alica asked. Long nodded and searched through the pile on his desk for the ninja assassin's folder. Soon enough the old man walked into the room, clad in a black outfit with flame designs.

"I can't believe he left you in charge." The low grating voice mumbled resentfully. "It should have been me! I was the best assassin who ever...!"

"Shut up!" Long interrupted, getting up to stuff the folder in his hands. "Now go look over your assignment." Bakuryu snarled at his successor and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I _know _they never give Van this much grief." Long stated, sitting back down in the thick leather chair.

"You're right." Alica admitted. "But you have to expect this sort of thing, they were jealous of you enough before Van put you in power.... Shall I bring in Greg?"

"Might as well get it over with." Long reluctantly agreed. He picked Greg's folder out of the mess on his desk right before the buffoon lumbered into the room.

"I heard that you were the boss today, but I didn't believe it 'till now." He said.

"It looks as though Van's sending you back to basic assassin training." Long commented while reading the folder.

"W-What?"

"As many missions as you've screwed lately you're lucky he doesn't just use you for experiment fodder!" Long handed him the folder. "You'd better pay attention to your lessons this time or I'll off you myself!" Greg sighed, staring at the folder for a moment before exiting the room. Long sank back into the comfy leather chair, relaxing for a moment before resuming his duties.

"Do you think you have time to rest?" Alica asked.

"I made quick work of them." Long excused himself, getting up to sort through the papers in a moment anyway. "Let's see now..." he mumbled, "the next duty on our agenda today is-" Before he could continue someone knocked on the door of the office. Alica quickly went over to open the door. In walked a young black haired man with gooseberry green eyes, escorted by a higher officer.

"Excuse me, sir." The officer said with a bow. "This guy was transferred here today and we don't know what to do with him."

"Kai...!" Alica cried, recognizing the young man. His solemn expression picked up immediately upon sighting her, the forlorn expression on his face changing quickly to a smile.

"Miss Alica...."

"I'll find a place for him." Long told the officer. "You're free to go now."

"Thank you, sir." The officer said, leaving with another bow.

"So... you two know each other?"

"I first met Kai in one of the other offices." She explained. "Kai, this is Long, a good friend of mine." She nudged Kai over to him, but he approached somewhat hesitantly, as though intimidated by the larger man.

"Now... what should I do with you?" Long asked, giving him a scrutinizing glance. Kai balked at his intense gaze, seeming a bit apprehensive, and disturbed by the wording as well. Then Alica came up and placed a hand on his shoulder and he started to relax a little.

"Don't worry, Kai. Long's not the sort of man you think." She knew that Kai had a sort of reflexive distrust for his superiors, especially the male ones, as they had tended to mistreat him severely in the past. The fact that Long was taking over Van's position didn't help either. Alica was sure that Kai had expected to see her half brother when he'd been brought to the office, but since she had introduced them by name she was sure that Kai could tell that this wasn't him. Since he seemed stressed out by the situation, she did all she could to reassure him.

Meanwhile Long was lost in thought, trying to figure out what ought to be done with the new staff member. He looked through the papers in the desk, but there was no mention of it, nor any specific places open for him to fill. The fact that he'd been overlooked made it obvious that the young man wasn't anyone terribly important. Finally Long put down the papers and just tried to figure out something himself.

He was at a loss for ideas, until he gazed across the room at Alica. He felt bad about dragging her around as he had, and also felt it appropriate in any case. Suppose that more of the people in the building saw them working together, as the assassins already had. Nothing new to those few, but if someone else saw it could easily get to Van's ears. How would it sound to him knowing that they were often alone in that office, with Alica going in and out like his little servant? He knew that it wouldn't sound good.

He decided that he ought to put her back to work, even though he really didn't want to and would sorely miss her company. It simply wasn't worth the risk. Besides which, even if Van didn't hear about the two of them being together he would realize that she wasn't performing her duties. It would be cause enough for suspicioun. Therefore Long had to find someone to fill her place, and here he had a staff member conveniently thrown right into his office.

"You know, Alica... you really ought to get back to your job, don't you think? Van would not be pleased if he were to find out that I've detained you from your work." She looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. "I can give Kai a temporary position to fill, in here as my gopher. Then you can return to your duties."

"I guess it would be for the best." Alica reluctantly admitted, though she'd much rather help Long in his office than go back to her assassin and lab work.

"There is an assignment for you here." Long stated, handing her a folder. She looked through it grimly and then closed it again, sighing in resignation before heading out the door. Kai's gaze followed her out, dismayed that they'd been separated so soon. Long sighed and leaned back in his chair, sifting through the papers again to check his schedule. There were papers to sign and people to call and appointments to keep, and all kinds of other things to keep him busy. It seemed as though Van didn't want him to have a single spare moment.

"Well, it looks like I've got to get to work on these papers... how well do you know the building, Kai?"

"Not well, sir." The young man replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "This is my first time in this particular building."

"Then I would appreciate it if you'd take some time to familiarize yourself with its layout..." Long said. He bent down and started fishing through one drawer, pulling out a several pages worth of floor maps. "Once you feel you have a good grasp of direction I would appreciate it if you would bring me something from the cafeteria for breakfast. Just tell them it's for me and they ought to put it on Van's tab."

"Yes, sir." Kai agreed, taking the maps and heading out the door. Long studied the papers that laid on the desk, reading through them carefully before stamping some with Van's signature, others denied. He'd been at it for half an hour or so when Kai returned with a plate full of waffles, with butter, syrup, and bacon on the side. He set the plate down on the desk and Long examined closely, noting that the waffles were still warm.

"Very good." He stated, picking up the plastic fork and knives. Kai also set a half pint of milk and one of orange juice down on the desk. "And did you ever get the hang of the building?"

"I can make my way around now." Kai said with a nod.

"Superb!" Long said with a smile. "In that case, take an hour off... meet me back in this office once you're done."

"Yes sir." Kai agreed. He bowed courteously and walked out the door. Long watched him go, quite appreciative of having such a dutiful attendant. Then he dug into his breakfast, thankful to have something to fill the emptiness in his stomach. Kai wandered around the building, uncertain of what to do with himself. He didn't feel the need to explore all the levels of the building as he already knew his way. So he ended up back at Alica's dorm.

Alica seemed glad to have his company, and the two spent the entire hour catching up on all the things that had gone on since they'd last seen each other. She assured him again that Long was a trustworthy man, and told him all about how they came to be friends. After the lengthy talk with her, Kai felt a bit better about being under his command. Eventually Kai had to go though, and Alica had to get to work as well. So they parted ways at the door, Alica waving as Kai went back to the office.

She stopped by Stephen's dorm before heading off, just to see if he'd left yet. She knocked on the door a couple times, and was just about to take off when he finally opened the door. He stood there in a lab coat and some strange glasses with magnifying lenses that made his eyes look huge.

"I'm sorry, I... um.... I was in the middle of an experiment." He admitted, smiling sheepishly. "But won't you come in?"

"Stephen... we've got to be down in the lab in fifteen minutes."

"Oh! Oh, right.... Guess I'd better, um..." he shakily reached up and pulled the glasses off his face. "Guess I'd better take these off." He gave her a broad smile and then looked over his outfit. "Well, I... I guess I'm pretty much ready to go then. Couldn't go answering the door without coming to a stopping point in the experiment anyway."

Alica smiled back and giggled a little at his apparent nervousness. "I guess we'd better get going then," she suggested.

"Right. Of course..." He agreed, nodding and starting off for the elevator. The two walked side by side to the spot, Alica pushing the button as they got near. "So, um... I thought you were going to be helping Long in his office today?"

"I was." She explained. "But he found someone else to do the job so that I could get back to work."

"Oh, I see..." The elevator reached their floor presently and dinged softly as it came to a stop. The two walked in and she pushed the button for their next floor, they stood silently in the enclosed area as they waited. Alica couldn't help but wonder why Long had decided to send her back to work. She felt a bit dejected to be sent away for any reason, no matter how good the reason was. And she suspected that the real reason behind her dismissal from his office had something to do with the way Van had scared Long into keeping away from her.

_I don't understand, the bastard's not even here and still he gets to people! _She clenced her fists and pursed her lips in anger. _Where does he get the idea that he can do this to me?_

"Alica... are you alright?" Stephen asked. The elevator dinged as it stopped at a floor, but it wasn't theirs. A couple more passengers piled into the elevator.

"I'm fine, Stephen." She replied, a bit embarrassed that she'd let her anger get out of control to the point where someone noticed it. "Thanks for your concern." Stephen didn't seem to buy her story, bit he didn't say anything about it. They just waited quietly in the elevator, listening to the murmur of someone else's discussion before it finally reached their floor. They went on into the lab then, taking their usual spots at the table. Alica tried to concentrate on her work, still bothered by the way he brother's influence seemed to take away everything she held dear.

Stephen noticed the look and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if you're not in a good mood today. Is there anything I can do to help?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "You don't need to concern yourself with me, though thanks for the thought." She turned to go back to work, but was unable to concentrate because he was still looking at her. She didn't really understand why, but hoped that he wasn't going to try and get her to talk about the problem. "What?"

"It's just..." he looked down, a bit embarrassed, "you're so beautiful."

She smiled warmly, in gratitude at the comment. He smiled back shyly, wondering how he'd been lucky enough to find such a lovely woman, and make her smile.


End file.
